Amihan weakens but cold weather, cloudy skies to prevail in Luzon

Source: Pagasa / DOST

MANILA, Philippines – The northeast monsoon or Amihan has slightly weakened but the state weather bureau said that it would still bring cold weather and cloudy skies to huge part of Luzon.

In addition to that, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said on Thursday afternoon that the agency spotted a cloud band near Eastern Visayas, which may also bring cloudy skies to the rest of the country.

These scenarios may bring occasional rain showers and thunderstorms, especially in Tagaytay City, areas in Bicol region, and Eastern Visayas provinces.

“Makikita natin dito sa ating satellite imagery na manipis na lamang ang kaulapang nakaka-apekto dito sa Luzon area, at meron tayong namamataang isang kumpol ng ulap o cloud cluster dito sa silangang bahagi ng ka-Bisayaan,” weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said during Pagasa’s forecast.

(We could see in our satellite imagery that the clouds affecting Luzon are thin, and we are monitoring a cloud cluster in the eastern part of the Visayas region.)

“Sa ngayon nga bahagyang humina ang epekto ng Amihan sa buong bansa, ngunit  patuloy na magdadala epekto sa malaking bahagi ng Luzon.  At dahil nga sa kaulapan na ito ay posibleng mayroon pa rin tayong easterlies o ‘yong hangin na galing sa silangan,” he added.

(As of now the northeast monsoon’s effect on the whole country weakened, but it will still affect a big part of Luzon.  And because of these cloud clusters, there is a possibility that easterlies or winds from the east will prevail.)

Just this Wednesday, Pagasa recored the coldest day in Metro Manila with temperatures dropping to just 19 degrees Celsius.  This has been attributed to the Amihan.

According to Pagasa, no major weather disturbance like low pressure areas or storms are expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility in the next three days.

Due to the winds, a gale warning has been raised on several parts of the country’s eastern seaboard, including Northern Samar, eastern sides of Eastern Samar, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Siargao, Bucas Grande Islands; Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Isabela, Aurora, Extreme Northern Quezon, northern coast of Polilio Island, Camarines Norte, northern coast of Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Rapu-Rapu Islands, and Sorsogon.

With the gale warning, small sea crafts in the area are not allowed to set sail as waves may reach a height of 3.5 meters.

Edited by JPV