Pagasa: LPA off Visayas may enter PAR Friday, rain showers expected

MANILA, Philippines — The low pressure area (LPA) east of  the Visayas may enter the Philippine area of responsibility on Friday but has a minimal chance of developing into a tropical depression, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

In Pagasa’s  4 a.m. bulletin, weather specialist Benison Estareja said the LPA was last spotted 1,200 kilometers east of the Visayas.

“Mababa pa rin ang tsansa na ito ay maging isang bagyo. Inaasahan naman na ito ay papasok din ng Philippine area of responsibility sa mga susunod na oras at posibleng magkaroon ng epekto sa mga susunod na araw sa ating bansa,” he said.

(It still has a low chance of developing into a storm. We expect it to enter PAR in the coming hours and may affect the weather in the country in the coming days.)

Estareja added that the LPA is embedded within the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) that currently affects the weather condition in Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The ITCZ is where winds coming from the northern and southern hemisphere converge, bringing clouds that cause rains in affected areas.

Meanwhile, the LPA off Northern Luzon, previously Tropical Depression Gener, may dissipate this Friday.

The state weather bureau said the ITCZ will bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in the Visayas,  Bicol, Mimaropa and Caraga regions, Northern Mindanao, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to the ITCZ and localized thunderstorms, according to Pagasa.

Forecast temperature range in key cities:

Metro Manila: 24 to 32 degrees Celsius
Baguio City: 16 to 24 degrees Celsius
Laoag City:  24 to 32 degrees Celsius
Tuguegarao: 24 to 33 degrees Celsius
Legazpi City: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius
Puerto Princesa City: 25 to 32 degrees Celsius
Iloilo City: 25 to 29 degrees Celsius
Cebu City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius
Tacloban City: 24 to 30 degrees Celsius
Cagayan De Oro City: 23 to 31 degrees Celsius
Zamboanga City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius
Davao City: 24 to 32 degrees Celsius

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