Wet Christmas in some areas

For the folks in the eastern parts of the archipelago, Christmas Day comes heavy with rain.

The weather bureau has forecast a moderate to heavy rain for the eastern sections of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao on Christmas Day, with the warning: watch out for landslides and flashfloods.

“It’s going to be a wet Christmas in those areas,” forecaster Aldczar Aurelio of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in an interview.

The rainfall, however, should not be taken lightly in the absence of a cyclone because this could trigger flooding and loosen mountain slopes, he said.

A combination of the northeast monsoon (Amihan), its convergence with the winds from the east or easterlies, and La Niña are bringing the rainfall, and the provinces facing the Pacific Ocean are the first to get hit, Aurelio said.

“We’re talking here of Cagayan, Isabela, and Bicol Region all the way to Surigao provinces,” he said.

Cagayan and Isabela had reportedly experienced pockets of flooding early this week because of rain induced by the northeast monsoon, which is sweeping the main island of Luzon with cold and dry air from Siberia.

On Christmas Day, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, as well as the rest of Visayas and Mindanao will be mostly cloudy with rain showers and thunderstorms.