MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression Igme will enhance the southwest monsoon or “habagat” and generate rain over Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, the state weather bureau said Saturday.
“Igme” is expected to exit the Philippine area of Responsibility either Saturday afternoon or evening.
“Sa ngayon po ay hindi na directly nakaka-apekto si Bagyong Igme sa ating bansa, subalit pinapa-enhance nito slightly ang habagat or southwest monsoon, ito ay nagdadala ng pag-ulan dito sa ilang bahagi ng Luzon,” weather specialist Benison Estareja said in the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) 4a.m. update.
(Currently, Tropical Depression Igme has no direct effect on the country, but it slightly enhances the habagat or southwest monsoon, which will bring rains to several parts of Luzon.)
Hence, Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and the province of Rizal will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.
Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers, meanwhile, are expected over the rest of the country due to localized thunderstorms.
Estareja said that “Igme” was last spotted 285 kilometers north northeast of Basco, Batanes.
It packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, as gustiness of up to 70 kph.
The tropical depression was monitored moving north at 15 kph.
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