MANILA, Philippines — Luzon and some areas in the Visayas may continue to experience rain for the rest of Tuesday and even into early Wednesday morning, state meteorologists said.
According to weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday afternoon, the cloudy weather is because of the northeast monsoon or amihan which is affecting Northern Luzon, and the tail end of a frontal system that is bringing rain over the Cagayan Valley and the eastern parts of Luzon.
Pagasa also said light to moderate rain over Metro Manila is likely in the coming hours becuase of isolated thunderstorms and not from any weather disturbance.
Meanwhile, the low-pressure area (LPA) south of Mindanao still has a low chance of entering the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR). At the same time, Pagasa does not expect the LPA to progress into a tropical cyclone.
Despite this, Pagasa said the cloudy and rainy weather over Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon is expected to continue into the New Year’s celebrations on January 1, Thursday, due to the said systems.
“By Thursday and Friday or sa (December) 31 po ‘yan hanggang January 1 o sa pagpasok po ng New Year ay inaasahan natin na mataas ‘yong tsansa ng mga pag-ulan so mostly cloudy po tayo n’yan, at may mga pag-ulan po tayong inaasahan,” weather specialist Ana Clauren said.
(By Thursday and Friday or around December 31 up to January 1 or when the New Year comes, we are expecting a high chance of rains so we may see mostly cloudy skies and rains during those days.)
“Sa Baguio City, hanggang Sabado rin po magiging maulap ‘yong ating kalangitan o magiging makulimlim po ang ating panahon at may kasama po ‘yang mahihinang pag-ulan,” she added.
(For Baguio City, cloudy skies would also remain until Saturday which means we may see gloomy weather accompanied by light rains.)
For Wednesday, there will be rain over northern and eastern Luzon, while Metro Manila and nearby provinces can expect fair weather by morning and noon and a high chance of rain by afternoon and night.
Temperatures would slightly rise in Tuguegarao at 23 to 30 degrees Celsius as Laoag and Palawan expect something between 24 to 30 degrees, Metro Manila with 24 to 31 degrees, and Tagaytay at 20 to 30 degrees.
The Visayas may also see rain on Wednesday as Iloilo may register temperatures between 25 to 31 degrees Celsius, 24 to 31 degrees for Cebu. In Mindanao, it would be generally fair weather as Davao, Zamboanga, and Cagayan de Oro temperatures would not exceed 31 degrees.
The northeast monsoon also prompted authorities to maintain gale warnings for areas in the extreme northern Luzon, specifically the seaboards of Batanes, the northern coast of Ilocos Norte, the Babuyan Islands, and the whole Cagayan coastline.
Due to the gale warning, fisherfolk using small boats are advised against sailing in these areas as sea conditions may be rough to very rough.