'Jacinto' has no direct effect on Philippines; cyclone's trough, enhanced 'habagat' to affect parts of the country
Tropical depression may exit PAR tonight
Track and intensity forecast for Tropical Depression Jacinto (PAGASA)
Tropical depression Jacinto is not expected to directly affect the country but may enhance the southwest monsoon (habagat), which will continue to bring rains over parts of the country, particularly Southern Luzon and Western Visayas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Thursday, Aug. 28.
As of 10 a.m., Jacinto was located 480 kilometers west of Subic Bay, moving west-northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour (kph).
The tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center, with gusts of up to 55 kph.
“No tropical cyclone wind signals are currently in effect, as Jacinto has no direct effect on any part of the country,” said PAGASA weather specialist Leanne Loreto.
However, the tropical depression’s trough or extension is bringing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over the western sections of Northern and Central Luzon, including Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
It is also enhancing the habagat, which is bringing moderate to heavy rains across Southern Luzon, Western Visayas, and parts of Mindanao.
PAGASA warned that moderate to heavy rainfall (50 to 100 millimeters) may prevail over Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Antique, and Negros Occidental within the next 24 hours.
Loreto said these rains may cause localized flooding in urbanized, low-lying, or river-adjacent areas, while landslides are possible in mountainous and highly susceptible communities.
She added that Jacinto is expected to continue moving northwestward and exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Thursday night.
Afterward, it will head toward northern or central Vietnam, where it may make landfall by Saturday, Aug. 30.
Loreto said tropical depression Jacinto, which formed at 8 a.m. Thursday is the fifth tropical cyclone to form inside the PAR this August and the 10th this year.