New LPA may become tropical depression

A new low pressure area (LPA) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday and is likely to develop into a tropical depression within 12 to 24 hours, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. It will be named “Quinta”.

At 10 a.m. Friday, the LPA was spotted 955 kilometers east of Mindanao and may intensify as it moves generally northwestward toward the Bicol Region-Eastern Visayas area, the state weather bureau said.

The public and disaster risk reduction and management offices concerned are advised to take appropriate measures, Pagasa said in its 11 a.m. advisory.

Weather specialist Ana Clauren told TheManilaTimes that Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro were experiencing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms caused by the trough of tropical storm “Pepito,” which has exited the PAR.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms, Clauren said.

Asked about the weather condition over the weekend, Clauren said only isolated rain showers would be experienced in Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and in provinces under Region 3 (Central Luzon), including Bulacan and Pampanga.

“Only the province of Zambales may experience light to moderate rain showers until tomorrow but may improve by Sunday,” she said.

Even if the LPA will develop into a tropical depression, this won’t affect most parts of the country in the next few days since it was located east of Mindanao, Clauren said.