No cloud cluster near PH, but Amihan to bring scattered rains, cold weather

MANILA, Philippines – No cloud clusters and major weather disturbances were seen near the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), but the state weather bureau said that cloudy skies might prevail due to the northeast monsoon or Amihan.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the country can expect fair weather in the next three to five days — although occasional rain showers may still be experienced.

“Makikita natin sa ating satellite imagery na halos walang kaulapan sa malaking bahagi ng ating bansa maliban na lamang dito sa may Batanes area, na part pa rin ‘yan ng isang malawakang cloud system na dumadaan sa may Taiwan strait,” weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said.

(We can see in our satellite imagery that almost no cloud bands are affecting the country except in Batanes, which are caused by a wide cloud system passing across the Taiwan strait.)

“Patuloy na northeast monsoon ang nakaka-apekto sa malaking bahagi ng Luzon area, at makikita rin natin na walang tayong namamataan na anumang sama ng panahon o cloud clusters […] Ibig sabihin nito sa loob ng tatlo hanggang limang araw ay wala pa rin tayong inaasahan na bagyo na mabubuo,” he added.

(The northeast monsoon continues to affect a big part of Luzon’s area, and we can see that there are no nearby weather disturbances or cloud clusters, so no storm is expected in the coming three to five days.)

Metro Manila and huge parts of Central Luzon and Southern Luzon may experience sunny days, but the northern part of the island including the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Cagayan Valley will see cloudy skies.

Temperatures are also expected to remain cold, with Baguio having lows of 11 degrees Celsius and highs of 21 degrees Celsius — same with Tuguegarao City, where temperatures range from 17 to 26 degrees Celsius.

The cold weather is expected to continue in the coming days, Pagasa said, while towns in the Bicol region will be affected by cloudy skies.  Generally, fair weather is also seen to prevail over Visayas and Mindanao, although isolated thunderstorms may occur in Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, and Metro Davao.

A gale warning is also raised over some of Luzon’s seaboards, specifically the coasts of Batanes, Cagayan, Babuyan Island, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Northern Quezon, Northern Polilio Island including Panukulan and Burdeos.

Pagasa said that fisherfolk with small sea crafts in the said areas are not allowed to set sail as they may face rough seas and high waves.