La Nina to bring occasional ‘summer rain’–Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — Rain in the summer? Well, yes, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, if Tuesday’s shower was any indication.

MTSAT ENHANCED IR Satellite Image for 8:32 a.m., 13 March 2012

This one is, however, shortlived, as the heat is expected to be back Wednesday once the easterlies, or winds blowing from the east in Eastern Luzon, which caused the rain early Tuesday, ease out later at night or Wednesday morning, state weather forecasters said.

But Pagasa’s Boy Soriaga said summer rain would be experienced occasionally due to the La Niña phenomenon.

La Niña, the opposite of El Niño, refers to the cooling of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. It is characterized by above-normal rainfall.

Meanwhile, in Pagasa’s bulletin Tuesday, Northern, Eastern and Southern Luzon will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the east will prevail over Luzon and coming from the east to northeast over  the rest of the country. The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough.