Rains to continue over MM, Luzon as Maring exits

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Storm Maring exited the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday, but the southwest monsoon will continue to dump rains over the western section of Luzon, including Metro Manila, in the next few days, according to the weather bureau.

Robert Sawi, weather division chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the weather condition in Metro Manila and nearby areas is expected to improve today and possibly help ease the situation of people in flood-ravaged areas.

“(Thursday) we will experience gradual improvement in weather. But it doesn’t mean that we will no longer have rains in Metro Manila. If today’s (Wednesday) weather is better than yesterday, we expect the weather to improve further,” Sawi said.

The weather bureau said more rains are likely to prevail over the Ilocos region as Maring makes landfall over eastern China today.

As of 1:30 p.m. yesterday, PAGASA issued yellow rainfall warning over Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Rizal, Cavite, Tarlac, Bataan, parts of Laguna, Quezon, Occidental Mindoro and Zambales.

A yellow rainfall warning means that moderate to heavy rains will likely affect the areas in the next three hours.

Maring left Philippine territory at around 7 a.m. yesterday after the high-pressure area that had been blocking its path for the past days weakened, PAGASA weather forecaster Joey Figuracion said.

The storm remained almost stationary over Batanes for days, enhancing the southwest monsoon which dumped torrential rains that submerged most parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila.

 Although it did not make landfall in any part of the country, Maring brought record-high rainfall in Cavite and Port Area in Manila, surpassing the average monthly rainfall in the areas.

As of 10 a.m. yesterday, Maring was spotted at 500 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 105 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of 135 kph.

It was forecast to move west-northwest at 20 kph.

It was predicted to be 600 km northwest of Itbayat this morning.

The weather bureau said Maring would still dump heavy to torrential rains (10 to 40 millimeters per hour) within its 500-km radius.