By Alexandria San Juan
The low-pressure area (LPA) found east of Mindanao has developed into a tropical depression prior to its expected entry in the country this weekend, the state weather bureau said.
(PAGASA/ MANILA BULLETIN)
In the latest weather update issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Friday afternoon, the weather disturbance is spotted off 1,815 kilometers east of Mindanao.
It packs maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 60 kilometers per hour.
PAGASA weather specialist Gener Quitlong said the tropical depression is moving westward at 25 kilometers per hour and might enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
It will be locally named as "Chedeng," the third tropical cyclone to enter the country this year.
Based on its current track, Quitlong added that the weather disturbance might also make a landfall on the eastern part of Mindanao on Monday or Tuesday and will bring scattered to at times widespread rains over the region.
While the weather disturbance has no direct effect to the country for now, the resurgence of the northeast monsoon or "amihan" will bring cloudy skies with light rains over Ilocos Region, Batanes, and Babuyan Group of Islands.
Meanwhile, Cordillera Administrative Region, rest of Cagayan Valley, Aurora, and Quezon, would experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorm due to the tail-end of a cold front, or the boundary where the cool and warm winds meet.
In Metro Manila and the rest of the country, partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers will prevail because of localized thunderstorms.
PAGASA advised residents affected by the tail-end of a cold front and localized thunderstorms on possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, due to the surge of amihan, a gale warning was raised on the coasts of Batanes, Babuyan Group of Islands, Calayan, northern coast of Ilocos Norte, and northern coast of Cagayan.
PAGASA has warned fishermen and others with small vessels not to venture on coastal waters of provinces where gale warning was raised as coastal waters will be rough to very rough with wave heights of up to 3 to 4 meters