A new low pressure area (LPA) formed inside the country’s area of responsibility on Tuesday, Oct. 18, said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The LPA was located 1,140 kilometers east of Northern Luzon at 3 a.m., Tuesday.
PAGASA weather specialist Aldczar Aurelio said the LPA has a chance of developing into a tropical depression, and is currently moving west toward Northern Luzon.
Should it become a tropical cyclone inside the Philippine area of responsibility, the weather disturbance will be given a local name “Obet.”
Aurelio said that the LPA has no direct effect yet on the country as of Tuesday morning.
The dominant weather systems on Tuesday are the northeasterly surface wind flow and southwesterly surface wind flow, he added.
Batanes and Babuyan Islands will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms caused by the northeasterly surface wind flow.
Cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms may also affect Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Palawan, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi due to the southwesterly surface wind flow.
According to PAGASA, the occurrence of moderate to heavy rains may trigger flash floods or landslides in areas affected by the northeasterly and southwesterly surface wind flows.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country, including Metro Manila, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms and the southwesterly surface wind flow.
The public is also advised to stay vigilant against possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms, which are often accompanied by sudden heavy rains, lightning, thunder, gusty winds, and sometimes hail.