By Ellalyn de Vera-Ruiz
The whole archipelago will have “good weather” on Sunday, though it will be partly cloudy to cloudy as the low pressure area (LPA) west of Ambulong, Batangas, dissipated Saturday afternoon, weather specialist Meno Mendoza said.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) (MANILA BULLETIN)
The “good” weather will give Filipinos a good view of a significant celestial event – the annular solar eclipse on Sunday that also falls on the summer solstice. Astronomers said the annular solar eclipse will not be happening again until June 21, 2039.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Philippine nights will be at their shortest and daytimes at their longest during the summer solstice that is occurring on Sunday, June 21.
While the weather disturbance has already dissipated, PAGASA said there will still be isolated rain showers from the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and localized thunderstorms.
ITCZ is the area where trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres meet, characterized by frequent and often severe thunderstorms.
Severe thunderstorms are often associated with bursts of heavy rainfall, lightning, thunder, and gusty winds that usually last up to two hours.
PAGASA still reminded the public to take extra precautions in the event of severe thunderstorms, as flashfloods or landslides are possible in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards.