Rainy Sunday due to habagat, trough of STS Francisco

MANILA, Philippines — The trough of Severe Tropical Storm Francisco (international name: Mekkhala) and the southwest monsoon, or “habagat,” will bring rains to the southern portion of the country on Sunday, the state weather bureau said.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), as of 3 a.m. Francisco was last spotted 1,350 kilometers east of southeastern Luzon, moving west northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour.

It is packing maximum sustained winds of 100 kph with gusts of up to 125 kph, Pagasa added.

READ: Tropical storm outside PAR slightly intensifies on Saturday morning

Due to the cyclone’s location, it has yet to have a direct effect to the country.

“As of now, (STS) Francisco has no direct effect on any part of the country. There are cloud formations, but these are coming from the trough or extension of the storm,” Pagasa weather specialist Obet Badrina reported.

The trough of Francisco is forecast to bring rains and thunderstorms to Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon will affect Palawan, the rest of Visayas, and Mindanao, Badrina added.

Due to Francisco’s distance, the rest of Luzon will continue to experience warm weather, with a chance of localized rain showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.

Pagasa noted: “Francisco will likely remain over the Philippine Sea throughout the forecast period. However, a closer approach to the Extreme Northern Luzon is not ruled out.” /das