PH on monsoon break but ‘habagat’ may return before August ends


(MANILA BULLETIN)

The Philippines will continue to experience cloudy to partly cloudy condition with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms as the country is currently going through a “monsoon break,” said a weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

“Maaraw at mainit na panahon ang mararanasan sa halos buong bansa lalong lalo na sa Visayas at Mindanao. Habang sa malaking bahagi ng Luzon mayroon lamang mga saglit na pag-ulan sa hapon hanggang sa gabi (Sunny and hot weather will be experienced in almost the entire country, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao. While in large parts of Luzon, there will only be brief rains in the afternoon until the evening),” PAGASA weather specialist Benison Estareja said in his report Sunday, Aug. 28.

“Sa kasalukuyan ay nasa monsoon break tayo pero inaasahan sa katapusan ng Agosto ay posibleng magbalik ang southwest monsoon dahil sa posibleng isang weather disturbance (We are currently on a monsoon break but it is expected that at the end of August, the southwest monsoon may return due to a possible weather disturbance),” he added.

Estareja said PAGASA is monitoring a cloud cluster east of extreme northern Luzon, which may form into a low pressure area (LPA) in the next three days and will likely be inside the country’s area of responsibility before the end of the month.

“Kung saka-sakaling mabuo yung low pressure area, hindi rin natin inaalis yung possibility na maging isang bagyo ito (If by chance, the low pressure area forms, we are not eliminating the possibility of it becoming a tropical cyclone),” he added.

Based on the PAGASA’s climatological analysis, Estareja said that tropical cyclones that form in the eastern part of the extreme northern Luzon have a lower chance of making landfall over the country’s landmass.

“Lilihis lamang ito ng direksiyon palapit dito sa either Taiwan or southern portions of Japan (It will only swerve either towards Taiwan or the southern portions of Japan),” he added.