LPA seen to bring rains over Visayas, Mindanao

MTSAT ENHANCED-IR Satellite Image 3:32 p.m., 27 June 2013. pagasa.dost.gov.ph photo

MANILA, Philippines — A low pressure area is expected to bring rain showers and thunderstorms over the Visayas and Mindanao, while the weather will remain sunny in Metro Manila and most other parts of Luzon, the state weather bureau said Thursday.

As of Thursday, the LPA was observed at 500 kilometers east of Surigao City and embedded along the Intertropical Convergence Zone affecting Eastern Visayas and Mindanao, forecasters said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the effects of the weather disturbance would likely be concentrated in Mindanao.

“In Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, we expect fair weather during the day in the next few days, and cloudiness and rains in the late afternoon and evening,” said Pagasa forecaster Aldczar Aurelio.

He said there was a chance the LPA would turn into a tropical depression, but this was not conclusive. The weather disturbance will be named “Gorio” if it intensifies, Aurelio said.

Based on Pagasa’s weather outlook for Friday, Eastern and Central Visayas and Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms due to the LPA.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, it added

Light to moderate winds blowing from the northeast to northwest will prevail over Visayas and Mindanao and the winds coming from the southeast to southwest will prevail over Luzon. Coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be slight to moderate, Pagasa said.