MANILA, Philippines — A generally fair weather can be expected in several parts of the country although the cloud patterns caused by the northeast monsoon indicate colder nights and early mornings, state meteorologists said on Friday afternoon.
According to weather reports from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), only Eastern Visayas and Bicol would experience rains due to the cloud bands surrounding the regions — despite the shallow low-pressure area (LPA) already dissipating.
On the other hand, Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region may also have light rains and cloudy skies due to the northeast monsoon or amihan.
Pagasa said that no LPA or any weather disturbance is expected to affect the country over the weekend, but the state weather bureau also noted the presence of thin clouds up north — an indication that the Amihan is about to bring cold winds that can be felt as far as Metro Manila.
“Dito sa ating satellite imagery makikita natin itong mala-kaliskis na ulap dito sa may hilagang bahagi ng ating bansa, nagpapahiwatig ng malakas na bugso ng ating amihan. Generally malaming ang ganyang klase ng ulap, so inaasahan natin ang paglamig ng panahon dyan sa may Northern Luzon area,” weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said.
(According to our satellite imagery, we can see scale-like clouds up north of the country, which indicates a strong surge of the northeast monsoon. Generally, these clouds mean colder weather, so we can expect lower temperatures over the Northern Luzon area.)
“Kung ito ay magpapatuloy, posible nitong maapektuhan itong malaking bahagi ng Luzon including the Metro Manila area in the coming days,” he added.
(If this continues, this may affect a huge part of Luzon, including the Metro Manila area in the coming days.)
Expected temperatures for Saturday remain low in northern parts of Luzon, as Tuguegarao would feel something around 21 to 29 degrees Celsius, 22 to 30 degrees in Laoag, and 15 to 24 degrees in Baguio. Metro Manila would also see low temperatures at 22 to 31 degrees, while Legazpi and Palawan may register 24 to 30 degrees.
In the Visayas, Tacloban may experience slightly colder weather due to the cloud bands, from 24 to 30 degrees Celsius compared to Cebu’s 25 to 30 degrees and Iloilo’s 26 to 30 degrees. Both Davao and Zamboanga can expect temperatures between 24 and 31 degrees, and 23 and 31 degrees for Cagayan de Oro.
Gale warnings are still placed over the external waters west of Ilocos Region and Central Luzon; the northern coastlines including Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Batanes and Babuyan Islands; and almost the entire eastern seaboard, from Cagayan to Bicol Region.
Fisherfolk and boat transfer operators are not allowed to set sail in these areas due to waves possibly reaching heights of 2.8 to 5.5 meters. [ac]