LPA eyed as tropical ‘midsummer’ storm

Graphics by Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — A low-pressure area (LPA) still outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) may just turn into a storm in the next 24 hours, the weather bureau said as it marked the longest day of 2025, called the summer solstice in the world’s northern hemisphere.

As of 3 p.m. on Sunday, the LPA was located 2,560 kilometers east-northeast of extreme northern Luzon, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

READ: LPA outside PAR becomes tropical depression — Pagasa

No direct effect

Weather specialist Veronica Torres said in a 5 p.m. broadcast that the LPA has a high chance of developing into a tropical depression in the next 24 to 48 hours.

“However, it currently has no direct effect on any part of the country, and for now, we do not see it entering the Philippine area of responsibility,” she said, noting that cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms are expected in most of the country.

The rain and cloudy skies prevented Filipinos from fully experiencing the summer solstice, or the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

“Today is the summer solstice—the longest day of the year! It’s when the sun reaches its northernly point in the sky, giving us more daylight than any other day,” Pagasa said on social media.

The solstice is also called “midsummer” in European cultures that link it to supernatural events and is now marked with “midsummer’s eve” festivals.

The Philippines, however, has no marked summer season, outside of the intense heat starting in March and frequently marked by rain brought by the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) and any developing weather systems in the PAR.

This year, Pagasa said the weather system will likely bring rain and cloudiness over Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Soccsksargen, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, and Palawan, as well as the western sections of Visayas and Mindanao. /cb