LPA, ITCZ to bring rains

MTSAT ENHANCED-IR Satellite Image 6 a.m., 29 July 2013

The weather bureau on Sunday alerted residents of southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to possible flashfloods and landslides triggered by rains spawned by a low pressure area (LPA) north of Tacloban City and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the LPA, estimated at 70 kilometers north of Tacloban City, was embedded in the ITCZ affecting Palawan, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Forecaster Adczar Aurelio said the two weather systems were expected to bring moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms on Monday to the Bicol, Mimaropa, Zamboanga and northern Mindanao regions as well as Quezon province and the Visayas.

Aurelio said there was a possibility the LPA could develop into a tropical cyclone to be named “Jolina.”

Aurelio said Sunday’s downpour in Metro Manila was brought by thunderstorms and not by the two weather systems.

In its 5 p.m. forecast, the bureau said Metro Manila and the rest of the country continue to have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.