INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Ready your umbrellas, the weather bureau anticipates the onset of the rainy season this week.
After suffering from dry conditions since late last year, most of the country experienced “light to moderate” rains over the weekend.
The rains were brought by the intertropical convergence zone (the meeting of trade winds over the equator) affecting the Visayas, and not by the southwest monsoon, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Meteorologist Gener Quitlong said the intertropical convergence zone would continue to bring light to moderate rain to most of the country in the next two to three days, even though the low pressure area east of the country had dissipated by Saturday.
“The onset of the rainy season will possibly be this week,” Quitlong said.
Meteorologists will consider the rainy season to have officially started when the southwest monsoon has become the dominant wind system and when the rains have become consistent.
Pagasa earlier said the prevailing El Niño weather phenomenon had delayed the start of the rainy season, which was expected in mid-June.
The weather bureau said it was “unusual” that no cyclone had so far affected the country, which historically averages one to two cyclones in June.–Dona Z. Pazzibugan
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