Cold front: ‘Sweater weather’ sweeps Northern Luzon
BAGUIO CITY—“Sweater weather” swept through key Northern Luzon provinces, not just chilly Baguio City, which experienced its coldest day yet in 2018 with 11.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
The city had experienced slightly warmer mornings at an average of 16 degrees since Jan. 4, but temperatures plunged to 14.6 degrees C on Jan. 11, 13 degrees C on Friday and 12.8 degrees C on Saturday due to the tail end of a cold front, Baguio weather specialist Leticia Dispo said.
Mountain city
Cold front is the cold atmospheric air mass that displaces warm air at certain parts of the year and reduces temperatures.
On Feb. 15 last year, Baguio recorded its coldest day since Jan. 9, 1971, when residents woke up shivering to 7.3-degree weather at 6 a.m. The 1971 temperature was 7.1 degrees C.
The mountain-resort city gets cooler between December and February, but temperatures drop 3 degrees C lower in more elevated areas like Mt. Santo Tomas.
Article continues after this advertisementThe same cold spell in Quirino province saw the mercury drop to 17 degrees C at Nagtipunan town, and 18 degrees C in Maddela and Cabarroguis towns at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 14.
Article continues after this advertisementNatural aircon
The sudden cold gave Quirino “natural air-conditioning,” the town’s civil registrar, Wilmar Dollaga, said, adding that it also helped families give their air conditioners and electric fans a brief respite this weekend.
Cold weather was also experienced in Ilagan City, Isabela province, Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province, and Bayombong town in Nueva Vizcaya province.
The temperature at dawn on Sunday was 17 degrees C, which was a sharp drop from these provinces’ normal temperatures that range from 24-30 degrees C.
The cold weather was a break from the hot weather in Tuguegarao, said resident Cadel Trilles.
Known for being the hottest northern city, Tuguegarao recorded its hottest day on Aug. 19, 1912, with 42.2 degrees C. The capital city again experienced the same temperature on May 11, 1969.
Coats in Batanes
In Batanes province, Sunday morning started with 13.4 degrees C at 2 a.m. so families in the northernmost town Itbayat went to church in coats and mufflers before the temperature rose to 18 degrees C for the rest of the day, said Batanes weather forecaster Alex Antas.
Its cold spell was first recorded at Itbayat on Jan. 11 when the temperature plunged to 15 degrees C.
At 8 a.m. on Saturday, the temperature dropped to 12.7 degrees C before it rose to 14.3 degrees C at 2 p.m.
Weather forecaster Lito Aquino said the chilly mornings in Tuguegarao could last until Monday as a high pressure area may affect northern Luzon from Jan. 16 to 19. —Reports from Villamor Visaya Jr., Nathan Alcantara and Vincent Cabreza
