‘Basyang’ no more but rainy weather to continue to affect Cebu

Local

CEBU residents may experience generally unsettled weather over the next few days, with occasional rainshowers and gusty winds expected across the province.

The conditions are being influenced by Tropical Depression Basyang, which has weakened into a low pressure area (LPA) over the Visayas.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Basyang downgraded into an LPA as of 2 a.m. Saturday, February 7, while over the coastal waters near Cauayan, Negros Occidental.

The system remains inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) but is unlikely to redevelop into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours.

“This is because of its interactions with the land masses in Visayas and Mindanao,” Pagasa weather specialist Leanne Loreto said during the bureau’s daily weather forecast.

As of 4 a.m. Saturday, the LPA was located about 105 kilometers southeast of Cuyo, Palawan, moving westward at around 25 kilometers per hour.

The Pagasa said the remnant low may dissipate over the Sulu Sea.

Despite the downgrade, the Pagasa warned that weather conditions across much of the Visayas will remain affected. Western Visayas, the Negros Island Region, Palawan including the Kalayaan Islands, and Occidental Mindoro are forecast to have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to the LPA, while Eastern Samar will experience similar conditions due to the shear line.

The rest of the Visayas, including Cebu, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms caused by localized thunderstorms.

For Cebu, Pagasa forecast partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with rainshowers or thunderstorms beginning Saturday and continuing through Sunday.

Daytime temperatures are expected to range from 24 to 30 degrees Celsius, with light to moderate winds blowing from the southeast to southwest and slight to moderate coastal conditions.

From Monday, February 9, through Wednesday, February 11, Cebu will continue to experience fair to cloudy weather with isolated rainshowers. Winds will gradually shift to the northeast as the northeast monsoon, or amihan, strengthens, bringing light to moderate winds on Monday and Tuesday and moderate winds by Wednesday.(TGP)