The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Friday, Sept. 20 said the Low Pressure Area (LPA) over the northern Philippine Sea now has a “high” chance of developing into a tropical depression.

PAGASA located the LPA 590 kilometers east of Itbayat, Batanes, and it is moving northwest at 40 kilometers per hour as of 10 a.m.

If it develops into a tropical depression within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), it will be given the local name “Igme.”

It has a low chance of landfall, but based on the PAGASA’s weekly weather outlook, the potential tropical depression may bring scattered rains and thunderstorms to Batanes and Babuyan Islands from Saturday to Sunday, Sept. 21 to 22.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon, or “habagat,” enhanced by the weather disturbance, may continue to bring occasional to frequent rains to Ilocos Region, Zambales, and Bataan.

Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms, while the rest of the archipelago will be partly cloudy to cloudy with possible localized rain showers or thunderstorms.

By Monday, Sept, 23, PAGASA said the weather disturbance may move generally northwestward, away from the country; thus its influence on the habagat may also weaken.

Ilocos Region may experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms, while the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with brief rain showers or thunderstorms, mostly in the afternoon or evening.

From Tuesday to Friday, Sept. 24 to 27, the whole archipelago will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of localized rain showers or thunderstorms, mostly in the afternoon or evening.