‘Emong,’ now a storm, to bring more rains

Tropical Depression “Emong” turned into a storm on Tuesday, enhancing the southwest monsoon and bringing moderate to heavy rains over large parts of the country, weathermen said Tuesday.

Packing peak winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph, the storm was located 470 km east of Tuguegarao City as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

The storm was too far to affect the country, but it intensified the southwest monsoon, or “habagat,” which caused the downpours.

The storm was forecast to move northward at 19 kph and leave the country’s area of responsibility by Thursday.

Emong would bring moderate to heavy rains (5 to 15 millimeters per hour) within its 400-km diameter, Pagasa said.

Pagasa also issued a thunderstorm warning at 3:20 p.m. over Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, prompting the suspension of classes in many cities.

Due to the storm and the southwest monsoon, moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms were expected to prevail over southern Luzon, the Visayas and northern Mindanao.

Pagasa advised fishermen, especially those using small seacraft, not to venture out into the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon, and the western seaboards of southern Luzon, due to big waves generated by Emong.

Pagasa said Metro Manila, Central Luzon, the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions, and the Visayas, would experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, it added.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest to the west will prevail over Luzon and Visayas, and winds coming from the southwest will prevail over Mindanao. Coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough, Pagasa said.