Rainy weekend to prevail in Cebu

Local

EXPECT a wet weekend in Cebu as the southwest monsoon continues to bring cloudy skies, rainshowers, and thunderstorms across the province, weather authorities said.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Metro Cebu and the rest of the province will experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms from Saturday, July 12, through the early part of next week due to the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Daytime temperatures in Cebu are expected to range from 25 to 31 degrees Celsius on Saturday, dropping slightly to 25 to 29 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Winds will be light to moderate coming from the southwest, while coastal conditions will remain slight to moderate.

The unsettled weather is forecast to continue through Tuesday, July 16, with temperatures hovering between 25 to 32 degrees Celsius and no significant change in wind and sea conditions.

While a low-pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) developed into a tropical storm early Saturday morning, Pagasa clarified that it poses no threat to the country.

“As of 2 a.m. today, the tropical storm was located 1,925 kilometers east-northeast of extreme Northern Luzon,” said Pagasa weather specialist Grace Castañeda in the agency’s morning forecast. “It is not seen to enter our area of responsibility,” she added in Filipino. “It also does not have an effect on any part of our country.”

Castañeda emphasized that it’s the habagat, not the tropical storm, that is influencing the current weather pattern.

The southwest monsoon is bringing moderate to heavy rains to several parts of the country, particularly in Western Visayas, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Batangas, and Cavite. Pagasa also issued advisories for possible moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Bicol, and parts of Calabarzon and Mimaropa.

“Any time of the day, it’s possible for us to experience some rain. And the chances of rain increase in the afternoon and evening,” Castañeda said.

No gale warning was raised over the weekend, but moderate sea conditions are expected in western Philippine waters, with wave heights reaching up to 2.1 meters.

The rest of the country's seas, including those around the Visayas, will remain slight to moderate.

Despite the gloomy outlook, Pagasa said there are currently no weather disturbances directly affecting Cebu or the Visayas region.

Pagasa also continues to monitor cloud clusters east of the Visayas-Mindanao area, although no immediate developments are expected.(TGP)