Clouds seen over Metro as Filipinos welcome Pope Francis

MANILA, Philippines – People trooping to welcome Pope Francis Thursday afternoon in Metro Manila can expect cloudy skies and isolated rain after tropical storm “Amang” entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), the weather bureau said.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph, Amang entered the PAR early Thursday, said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

“Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy,” Pagasa said in its 5 a.m. bulletin.

Filipinos and Catholics who are urged to line the route of the Pope from the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila can also prepare for “isolated light rain,” as also forecast by Pagasa.

On Wednesday, Archbishop Soc Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan urged Filipinos and the faithful to welcome the Pope by standing along the streets to greet him after the pontiff arrives at 5:45 p.m.

“On January 15 early in the evening, please welcome the Pope as he leaves Villamor Airbase,” Villegas said.

The archbishop said Pope Francis will be “taking Newport Garden to Andrews Avenue towards Airport Road-Domestic Road to Roxas Boulevard-Quirino Avenue-Leveriza Intersection until Taft Avenue.”

Despite the clouds and isolated light rain, storm Amang is still too far to adversely affect any part of the country and Pagasa has not raised any public storm signal warning.
At 4 a.m. Thursday, Pagasa observed Amang 950 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar and forecast it to move west northwest at 19 kph.

Heavy to intense rain (7.5 – 20 mm per hour) can be expected within the 300 kilometer diameter of the storm, Pagasa said.
“Caraga and Eastern Visayas will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rains with possible occurrence of thunderstorms, while Cagayan Valley and Cordillera will have cloudy skies with light rains,” said the weather bureau.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Visayas and Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains with possible thunderstorms.

Pagasa expects Amang to bring rain in the coming days, particularly in Leyte, where Pope Francis will visit on Saturday.

Fisherfolks and those with small seacraft are advised not to venture out over the seaboards of Northern and Central Luzon and the Eastern seaboard of Southern Luzon and of the Visayas.

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