MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Fabian continues to enhance the southwest monsoon or”habagat” even after it swirled out of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), bringing rains over most parts of Luzon on Saturday, the state weather bureau said.
“Ganap na alas-11 kagabi ay tuluyan nang lumabas ng ating area of responsibility si bagyong Fabian (Typhoon Fabian exited PAR at 11 p.m. Friday ),” said Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Loriedin De La Cruz.
“Kahit nasa labas na po ito ng ating area of responsibility, dahil nasa northern border pa rin ito natin ay very favorable pa rin ang kanyang posisyon para makapag-enhance at makapaghatak ng habagat,” she added.
(Even after exiting our area of responsibility, since it’s in our northern border, its position remains favorable to enhance the southwest monsoon.)
At 4 a.m. Saturday, Pagasa said Typhoon Fabian was spotted 640 kilometers north northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.
All Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals have been lifted.
Still, Pagasa said the following areas will have a rainy weekend due to the southwest monsoon: Metro Manila, Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal Quezon), Abra, Benguet, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and northern Palawan including Calamian Islands.
Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms still caused by the southwest monsoon.
Meanwhile, Pagasa said another tropical storm is being monitored outside the PAR, last spotted 2,855 kilometers east northeast of extreme Northern Luzon.
“Hindi naman po natin inaasahan o mababa naman ang tsansa na pumasok pa ito ng ating area of responsibility,” Dela Cruz said.
(It is not expected to enter the country’s our area of responsibility.)