Weather bureau expects up to 4 storms next month

pagasa.gov.ph photo

MANILA, Philippines—The state weather bureau sees improving weather in the last few days of June but expects three to four tropical cyclones to hit the country in July.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on Friday that weather conditions would improve by Monday, but rains would persist in the western sections of the country.

As of mid-Friday, a low-pressure area was still hovering east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, but it was not expected to intensify into a tropical cyclone, forecaster Connie Dadivas said.

“There will still be intermittent rains especially in the western parts but we see improving weather by Monday,” she said.

The onset of El Niño is expected in either July or August, but its effects will not be felt until the last quarter of the year.

El Niño in the Philippines is marked by below-normal rainfall and stronger typhoons. It occurs when the sea surface temperature over the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean grows warmer, attracting tropical cyclones to that area and away from the country. The Philippines lies in the Western Pacific.

According to Pagasa’s 24-hour weather outlook, Metro Manila, Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon will have moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms, which may trigger flash floods and landslides.

The rest of Luzon and Western Visayas will experience light to moderate rains and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, it said.

Moderate to strong winds coming from the southwest to the west will prevail over Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

Light to moderate winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over the rest of the country with slight to moderate seas, Pagasa said.