Vinta may enter Phl today

MANILA, Philippines - A tropical depression may enter the Philippine area of responsibility today, the state weather bureau said.

Bobby Javier, forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said yesterday they are closely monitoring the low-pressure area in Visayas that has intensified into a tropical depression.

It will be named Vinta once it enters the Philippines, according to PAGASA.

It was moving at a northwest direction and could make landfall in Luzon, the agency said.

Javier said the new weather disturbance was spotted at 1,380 kilometers east of the Visayas.

He said there is a possibility that the tropical depression would intensify into a storm since it could gather strength while at the Pacific Ocean.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said Palawan and Mindanao will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms due to an intertropical convergence zone.

Metro Manila, Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley and Bicol will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains.

The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.