A motorist (C) brave strong winds and rain. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE
The state weather bureau on Tuesday declared the official start of the rainy season, a week after it announced the onset of southwest monsoon.
“The occurrence of widespread rainfall recorded in most PAGASA stations monitored in the last five days under Type 1 Climate confirms the onset of the rainy season,” the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in a statement.
The onset of southwest monsoon or hanging habagat, the prevailing weather system during rainy season, was announced last Wednesday.
“Intermittent to continuous rains and thunderstorms, associated with the southwest monsoon, will continue to affect Metro Manila and the western section of the country,” Pagasa said.
Most parts of the country are likely to experience near to above normal rainfall conditions in the next two months (June-July), it added.
Breaks in the rain events may also occur that can last for several days to weeks, however, due to the persistence of the ridge of the North Pacific high pressure area.