LPA to bring rains over Mindanao until Thursday

MANILA, Philippines - A low-pressure area entered the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday but it has a slim chance of intensifying into a tropical cyclone, the state weather bureau said.

Chris Perez, senior weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), however, said the weather system would bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains over Mindanao until Thursday.

Lights rains, meanwhile, are expected over the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos provinces and Cagayan Valley due to the moderate to strong northeasterly winds.

Perez said Batanes, Calayan Babuyan Group of Islands, the northern coast of Ilocos Norte, Isabela and Cagayan will have rough to very rough seas with wave heights expected to reach as high as five meters.

He said Metro Manila and the rest of the country would have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms in the next few days.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the low-pressure area was spotted at 610 kilometers east of Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Perez said Filipinos could expect cooler weather in the coming days or weeks due to the northeast monsoon.

He said the northeast monsoon is likely to set in this week or next week.

He said the areas in extreme Northern Luzon will start to experience lower temperatures once the northeast monsoon becomes the dominant wind system in the country.

Perez said the northeast monsoon brings cold weather in the country between November and February.

“The coldest temperatures are usually experienced in the months of January and February,” Perez said.