Amihan, ITCZ bring rains on Christmas day

MANILA, Philippines — The northeast monsoon or “amihan” and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will dump rains across some parts of the country on Saturday, Christmas day.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that the amihan will cause cloudy skies with light rains over Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Apayao, and Kalinga.

The weather system will likewise bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains over Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and the rest of Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, and Davao Oriental—which were affected by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai)—will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the ITCZ.

While the rest of the country will have a fair weather condition, it can expect isolated rain showers brought by localized thunderstorms.

Moreover, Pagasa weather specialist Grace Castañeda said that a gale warning is raised over Batanes and Babuyan Islands.

“Dahil nga po sa northeast monsoon o amihan ay mayroon po tayo ngayong nakataas na gale warning diyan po sa mga dagat-baybayin ng Batanes at Babuyan Islands kung saan hindi nga po muna natin pinapayagang pumalaot ‘yung mga kababayan nating mangingisda pati na rin po ’yung may mga maliliit na sasakyang pandagat,” she advised during the public weather forecast.

(Because of the northeast monsoon or amihan, we raised a gale warning over the seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands wherein we do not allow fisherfolk and those with small vessels to venture out at sea.)

“At also, ibayong pag-iingat din po para naman po sa mga maglalayag dito po sa nalalabi pang bahagi ng Luzon, maging sa dagat-baybayin po diyan sa silangan ng Mindanao, kung saan magiging katamtaman hanggang maalon po ‘yung magiging lagay po diyan ng dagat-baybayin sa mga nabanggit po na lugar na iyan,” Castañeda warned.

(Also, we caution those who will sail over the rest of Luzon, and the coastal waters east of Mindanao, wherein waves would be moderate to rough.)

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