Habagat to bring rain to parts of Luzon, Visayas

Parts of the Visayas and Luzon, including Metro Manila, may be affected by light to moderate and occasional heavy rain due to the southwest monsoon or Habagat, the state weather bureau said on Sunday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned residents in the National Capital Region, Western Visayas, Mimaropa, and provinces of Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, and Cavite of possible flash floods and landslides.

Pagasa said in its latest thunderstorm advisory that heavy rain with lightning and strong winds were expected over Rizal, Bulacan, Quezon, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija in the next hours.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy skies with isolated rain showers, due to localized thunderstorms.

This comes as the southwest monsoon is expected to be enhanced by the typhoon “Maria,” which will be named “Gardo” once it enters the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR)

Maria was last seen at 1,875 kilometers east of Central Luzon,  moving in a northwest pattern at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.  It is not expected to make landfall, but may enter PAR on Monday morning (July 9).

Maria will bring maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 225 kilometers per hour. /cbb