Moderate to heavy rains possible in Luzon due to habagat, Pagasa warns
MANILA, Philippines — Moderate to heavy rains may affect several areas in Luzon from Wednesday night to Thursday as the southwest monsoon sends cloud bands across the said region.
Weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Wednesday said that the western parts of Central Luzon, some parts of Mimaropa, some Cordillera provinces, and Metro Manila would experience these rains.
“Patuloy pong nakaka-apekto ang southwest monsoon or habagat dito po sa Luzon area kasama po ang Metro Manila, ngayon pong hapon at mamayang gabi may aasahang makulimlim na kalangitan na may kalat-kalat na pag-ulan at pagkidlat, pagkulog sa Batanes, Babuyan, sa Ilocos Region, Benguet, Abra, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, at sa northern part ng Palawan kasama po dyan ang Kalayaan Group of Islands,” weather specialist Ariel Rojas said.
“May katamtaman hanggang sa malalakas na ulan na posibleng ibagksak, na posible ngang magdulot ng mga biglaang pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa,” he added.
Eventually, Pagasa expects the southwest monsoon or habagat to move slightly northward and focus its winds on the western part of Central Luzon and towards Northern Luzon.
The weather bureau is still monitoring the tropical storm outside the country, which was given the international name Champi. As of 3:00 p.m., Champi was last located 2,050 kilometers east of Central Luzon, moving northwest at speed of 30 kilometers per hour (kph).
It is now packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kph and gustiness of up to 90 kph. As of now, Pagasa does not expect Champi to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), as it would likely recurve back to the Pacific Ocean.
Even if Champi enters PAR, Pagasa said that it would only move over the eastern border and would not affect weather systems in the country.
For Thursday, rains would still occur over western parts of Luzon due to the habagat, which means lower temperatures for Laoag and Puerto Princesa at 25 to 32 degrees Celsius, Tagaytay with 21 to 31 degrees, and Baguio at 15 to 23 degrees.
In contrast, the remaining parts of Luzon would have fairer weather, which may translate into slightly higher temperatures in Metro Manila with 25 to 33 degrees Celsius, 26 to 34 degrees for Legazpi, and 25 to 38 degrees in Tuguegarao.
Weather conditions over Visayas and Mindanao for Thursday would be fair also, with Tacloban and Cebu expecting temperatures between 24 to 32 degrees Celsius, Iloilo with 25 to 32 degrees, Davao and Cagayan de Oro with 25 to 33 degrees, and Zamboanga with 24 to 34 degrees.
No gale warning has been raised despite the southwest monsoon, but sea condition over the entire seaboard of Luzon and Western Visayas would be moderate. The rest of the country’s seas on the other hand would have a slight to moderate condition.
