Pagasa sees light rain on New Year’s Eve

MTSAT ENHANCED IR Satellite Image for 5 a.m., 30 December 2011

New Year’s Eve revelers will have to deal with light rain in Luzon, and rainshowers and thunderstorms in Eastern Visayas and Mindanao.

The northeast monsoon (amihan) sweeping Luzon and the tail end of the cold front will bring light rain over the main island until January 1, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Thursday.

The southward migration of the cold front and a wind convergence will bring cloudiness with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms over Eastern Visayas, becoming widespread over eastern Mindanao, forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said.

A cold front is the convergence of warm and moist air with cold and dry air.

“Save for the light rain, the skies will be clear for revelers to light firecrackers in Luzon. It’s another matter in Eastern Visayas and Mindanao. The rains there will be widespread,” said Aurelio in a phone interview.

Filipinos traditionally light firecrackers and pyrotechnics to usher in the New Year. In the past, this was spoiled by rain in parts of the archipelago.

The provinces on the eastern coast of the country facing the Pacific Ocean typically experience rain throughout the year, and maximum rainfall at this time, specifically from November to February.

The rainfall, however, has been intensified by the northeast monsoon that is associated with cold and dry air from Siberia, winds from the east or easterlies, and La Niña. The prospect of landslides and floods in these areas is high.

Pagasa Administrator Nathaniel Servando said the surge of the northeast monsoon and the tail end of the cold front would bring light rains to Luzon until New Year’s Day and would become frequent over the eastern section. TJ Burgonio