LPA expected to dissipate after crossing Southern Luzon — Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — The country may still remain free from any tropical cyclone as the low pressure area (LPA) that crossed Southern Luzon is not expected to develop into a storm, state meteorologists said.

According to the Thursday afternoon bulletin update of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the LPA crossed Southern Luzon from its previous position east of Bicol Region on Wednesday, and is now at a distance of 205 kilometers west northwest of Calapan City.

While it caused rains over Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Metro Manila, Pagasa expects it to dissipate in the coming hours, which means no tropical cyclone may be expected over the weekend.

“Dahil itong low pressure area ay may scenario na posibleng malusaw na by tomorrow habang binabagtas ang West Philippine Sea, ito ay posibleng hindi na umabot palabas ng ating bansa, at maging isang cloud cluster na lamang,” weather specialist Benison Estareja said.

(Because this low pressure area is expected to evaporate by tomorrow while it moves along the West Philippine Sea, it may not even reach the outskirts of the Philippine area of responsibility, and may remain a mere cloud cluster.)

“Wala rin tayong inaasahan na panibagong weather disturbance na mabubuo o papasok ng ating Philippine area of responsibility hanggang sa matapos ang weekend, so magandang balita po ‘yan,” he added.

(We are also not expecting any new weather disturbance that would enter the Philippine area of responsibility over the weekend, so that’s good news.)

However, Pagasa said that cloudy skies will still persist from Thursday night to early Friday morning in areas lying near the LPA,  including Pangasinan, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and even in Calabarzon.

Weather may start to improve by Friday morning, including up north as the northeast monsoon slightly weakens.  Temperatures in Metro Manila would play between 24 to 30 degrees Celsius, while it would be around 23 to 31 degrees in Laoag, 23 to 30 degrees in Tuguegarao, 25 to 31 degrees in Legazpi, and 25 to 32 degrees in Puerto Princesa.

Partly cloudy skies would be seen over Visayas and Mindanao, as temperatures range around 25 to 31 degrees Celsius in Tacloban and Cebu; 25 to 34 degrees in Davao, and 24 to 33 degrees in Zamboanga.

Gale warnings in Luzon have been lifted due to the weaker northeast monsoon, although the northern and western sections of Luzon may see waves as high as 1.2 meters to 3.1 meters, while the rest of the country may experience wave heights of 0.6 meters to 2.1 meters.

JPV