Most of the country will continue to experience partly cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms despite the weakening of the low pressure area (LPA) off Itbayat, Batanes and the southwest monsoon locally known as “habagat,” the state weather bureau said on Thursday, July 14.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather specialist Grace Castañeda, in a public weather forecast, said that the LPA was last spotted 185 kilometers (km) west northwest of Itbayat, Batanes. It continues to move away from the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) and remains less likely to develop into a tropical cyclone.

Meanwhile, although the southwest monsoon has slightly weakened, it still affects the western sections of northern and central Luzon.

“Ayon sa ating latest analysis ay humina na ang epekto nitong LPA na ito, maging ng southwest monsoon sa malaking bahagi ng Luzon. Ngunit ngayong araw ay nakikita natin na makakaranas pa rin ng mga pag-ulan, pagkulog at pag kidlat ‘yung mga kababayan natin dito sa kanlurang bahagi ng northern at central Luzon (According to our latest analysis, the effect of this LPA, even the southwest monsoon has weakened. But today, those residing in the western part of northern and central Luzon will still experience rains and thunderstorms),” said Castañeda.

Residents of Ilocos, Bataan, and Zambales were warned against possible flash floods and landslides that the southwest monsoon may bring during severe to at times heavy rain showers.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country, on the other hand, may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with high chance of isolated rains in the afternoon or evening due to the southwest monsoon and localized thunderstorms.