Weather satellite image from Pagasa
MANILA, Philippines — Most of the country was forecast to have generally fair weather with chances of isolated rains on Christmas Eve, the state weather bureau said.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), only Cagayan Valley, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Aurora, and Quezon are expected to have cloudy skies with rains due to the northeast monsoon, locally known as amihan.
“Malaking bahagi ng ating bansa ngayong araw ay makararanas ng generally fair weather condition, maliban na lamang ‘yan sa mga tyansa pa rin ng mga isolated na pag-ulan [at] dulot ‘yan ng mga localized thunderstorms,” Pagasa weather specialist Grace Castañeda said in a Sunday morning report.
(A large part of our country today will experience generally fair weather conditions, except that there are still chances of isolated rains [and] those are caused by localized thunderstorms.)
READ: Rainy Christmas Day likely, says Pagasa
Pagasa said the northeast monsoon will further bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with light rains over the majority of Luzon, including Metro Manila.
Palawan, the Bicol Region, Visayas, and Mindanao, will have the same weather conditions, although they may also experience thunderstorms because of the easterlies and localized thunderstorms, Pagasa likewise said.
Castañeda noted that no other weather systems were seen to adversely affect the country.
READ: Luzon faces rain, thunderstorms – Pagasa
Meanwhile, gale warnings are still raised in the northern part of the country due to the northeast monsoon.
According to Castañeda, sailing is risky in the seaboards of the following areas:
- Batanes
- Cagayan
- Ilocos Norte
- Ilocos Sur
- La Union
- Pangasinan
- Isabela
- Aurora
- Northern Quezon
- Calaguas Islands
- Northern and eastern coasts of Catanduanes
- Kalayaan Islands
The state weather bureau noted that waves off the coasts of these areas may reach up to 4.5 meters high.