Pagasa: Cloudy weather, rain still likely in parts of PH

MANILA, Philippines — Parts of the country can expect cloudy skies and isolated rain showers on Saturday, Dec. 14, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) said.

In a morning weathercast, state meteorologist Benison Estareja said three weather systems still prevail over the country: the cold winds of the northeast monsoon, locally termed amihan; easterlies, or warm winds from the Pacific Ocean; and shear line, or the zone where warm and cold winds meet.

Pagasa said light to moderate rains may be experienced in Cagayan Valley, Aurora, and the Cordillera Administrative Region, particularly Kalinga, Apayao, Mountain Province, and Ifugao, on Saturday due to the northeast monsoon.

“Light to moderate rain showers and sometimes heavy, if close to the mountains,” Estareja said in Filipino.

READ: 1 to 2 cyclones may enter PAR in December

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In the Ilocos Region, the rest of Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon, Metro Manila and most of Calabarzon, and Mimaropa, the state weather agency said partly cloudy to cloudy skies with a chance of isolated rain showers may occur.

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“May mga areas din sa Laguna, sa Marinduque at dito rin sa Romblon na magkakaroon, at some point, ng mga madalas na ulan. At ang natitirang bahagi pa ng Luzon ay may mga isolated rain showers o thunderstorms,” Estareja noted.

(There are also areas in Laguna, Marinduque and Romblon where, at some point, may have frequent rainfall. The rest of Luzon will have isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.)

Overcast skies, scattered rains, and thunderstorms due to the shear line were forecast in Quezon and the Bicol Region for Saturday, Estareja added.

The easterlies were seen to bring mostly cloudy skies to southern Palawan; Panay Island, particularly Aklan and Capiz; and Northern Samar, according to Estareja.

“Ang natitirang bahagi ng Visayas and Palawan, bahagyang maulap at minsang maaraw naman na kalangitan, pero sasamahan pa rin iyan ng mga pulo-pulong mga paulan or pagkidlat, pagkulog, lalo na sa hapon hanggang sa gabi,” the Pagasa weather expert likewise said.

(The rest of Visayas and Palawan will see partly cloudy and sometimes sunny skies, but that will be accompanied by scattered rain showers or thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon until evening.)

READ: Pagasa: Rain in Luzon, Mindanao Dec 13 due to 3 weather systems

As early as Saturday morning, Estareja said Surigao, Davao Region, Basilan, and Zamboanga City in Mindanao are forecast to experience isolated rainfall. He added that the rest of Mindanao may expect fair weather in general despite chances of rain and thunderstorms that may last between one and two hours.

On the country’s seaboards, Pagasa raised a gale warning over Batanes, the Babuyan Islands, and Ilocos Norte coasts, where waves reaching between 3.1 and 4.5 meters, roughly equivalent to one and a half floors of a building, may occur.

“In the coming days, asahan pa rin ang malakas na mga alon dito sa malaking baybayin ng Northern Luzon, so posibleng madagdagan pa ‘yung areas na may gale warning at matataas na alon,” Estareja warned.

(In the coming days,

He said the rest of Luzon’s coasts may expect waves up to three meters high while the seaboards of Visayas and Mindanao may see up to two-meter high waves within the next two days.

Estareja added that while Pagasa has been monitoring cloud clusters forming outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), east of Mindanao – which is associated with the ITCZ, no new low-pressure area may develop very soon within or around PAR.