Pagasa: Warmer temperatures, but it ain’t summer yet

A boy sits inside a plastic container as he takes a bath to cool off himself at a Manila suburb, Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The weather bureau expects generally good weather and warmer temperatures to prevail over the country in the next two or three days after a low pressure area (LPA) last tracked near General Santos City dissipated Wednesday afternoon.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecasters said that along with the dissipation of the LPA, the amihan (northeast monsoon) is also expected to take a “break” and momentarily give way to easterly winds.

Senior weather forecaster Jori Loiz said the lull of the amihan was just temporary as the northeasterly winds may be back by Friday. The termination of the northeastern monsoon usually heralds the start of summer.

Loiz said the weather bureau had not monitored any other potential tropical cyclone that would enter the Philippine area of responsibility.

He pointed out that a high pressure area somewhere between the country and Japan would push back and cause the “break” in the amihan and assured that although warmer temperature would be felt in the next few days, it did not mean that summer has arrived.

“The northeast monsoon is still in effect. An indication that summer is here and that the transition to the habagat (southwest monsoon) is starting is when we have a lot of LPAs forming. We also have clear, cloudless skies almost every day,” Loiz said.

In Pagasa’s forecast for Thursday, the Visayas and the Caraga region will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms while Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon are expected to have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains.