Rainy season officially here

Looking for relief from the hot weather? Here’s some good news for you.

The rainy season is just around the corner, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported yesterday.

Using the weather pattern that occurred in the last seven days, PAGASA has predicted that the southwest monsoon season will set in during the last week of May.

"The prevailing weather situation in the past few days has led to the buildup of rain-threatening clouds, especially over the western section of Luzon," the agency said.

Other indications included the persistence of a monsoon trough across the northern South China Sea up to the Batanes area, as well as the development of the precursory cloud system west of the Ilocos region.

The initial surge of monsoon rains may be experienced over the Ilocos Region and Central Luzon within three to five days, PAGASA said.

One of the best indications is the natural phenomena that usually occur ahead of the rainy season. Armies of ants have started migrating to new sites of their colonies. Cicadas, which usually are unseen during the day, have begun producing an incessant humming sound.

Crickets, meanwhile, have started chirping earlier and longer in the evenings. And hordes of the winged insects now gather around street lights to find their mates. Even frogs are seen jumping about roads and pathways, waiting eagerly for the rain.

If you look up in the evening, you will also see the overcast sky, with thicker clouds diffusing the moonlight and hiding the myriad stars from view.

The onset of the rainy season means relief from the unusually high temperature. Thermometers will register a gradual dip when the habagat (wind) from the southwest begins to blow and let go the monsoon rains.

And soon, land that had been parched by the summer sun will be covered with green grass. Lush undergrowth will appear around trees, which themselves will embrace thickening new foliage.