Rain likely on 1st day of December due to easterlies, northeast monsoon

MANILA, Philippines — Two weather systems – northeast monsoon and easterlies – will bring rain to the country on the first day of December, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Friday.

In an advisory, the weather bureau said Aurora, Isabela, Apayao, Batanes, and Cagayan, including the Babuyan Islands, will experience overcast skies with rain due to the northeast monsoon, locally known as amihan.

The northeast monsoon will also cause isolated light rains over the Ilocos Region, the rest of Central Luzon, the rest of the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley.

READ: Luzon drought seen after subnormal rain

Pagasa said the easterlies will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms in Metro Manila and the rest of the country.

According to Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina, no low-pressure area or tropical cyclone is being monitored within and outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Friday. It may remain the same in the next few days, he noted.

But Badrina revealed that one or two tropical cyclones may enter the PAR this month.

He said that based on previous years, tropical cyclones in December may recurve and not hit the country’s landmass. While the tropical cyclones may also strike Central and Northern Luzon, there is a bigger possibility that they will pass through the Visayas and the northern part of Mindanao, Badrina added.

Still, due to the northeast monsoon, Pagasa said a gale warning was raised on the seaboards of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, and Ilocos Norte. The state weather service advised small boats to avoid sailing as moderate to rough seas are expected on these coasts.