Potential cyclone enters PAR

MANILA, Philippines — A low pressure area (LPA) spotted near Northern Luzon has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the state weather bureau said on Monday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was located at 190 kilometers north northwest of Laoag City or at 150 kilometers of Calayan Island at 5 a.m. today.

Once the LPA intensifies into a tropical depression, it will be named "Ester," the fifth cyclone to enter the country this year and the first this month.

The agency said the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

Light to moderate winds coming from the southwest will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and from the south to southwest over Mindanao.

The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be slight to moderate.