The southwest monsoon or “habagat” may continue to bring rains over Luzon and the western section of Visayas until next week, as a potential low-pressure area (LPA) could further strengthen the habagat and bring more rains, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Friday, Aug. 14.

PAGASA weather specialist Leanne Loreto said the potential LPA may form over the northeastern portion of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and move westward toward the country between Sunday, Aug. 16, and early next week.

She said the weather system could enhance the habagat starting Sunday, potentially bringing more rains over areas already affected by the monsoon.

Loreto urged the public to continue monitoring official updates as the forecast may still change.

As of Friday, the habagat continues to bring moderate to occasional heavy rains over Zambales and Bataan.

Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, the rest of Central Luzon, and Antique may also experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy skies, with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms possible in the afternoon or evening.

With soil already saturated from recent rains, Loreto advised the public to coordinate with their respective local government units on possible evacuations, particularly in areas vulnerable to flooding and landslides.

Meanwhile, an LPA designated as LPA 08e was located outside PAR, about 1,970 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon, as of Friday morning.

It has a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours but is moving away from the country and is not expected to affect the country’s weather.