Typhoon Dindo enters Phl, won’t hit land

Typhoon Dindo ( international name Lionrock) entered the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday but was not expected to directly affect any part of the country, the staterun weather bureau said.

Dindo, the fourth tropical cyclone to enter the country this year, was located in the northeastern boundary.

Esperanza Cayanan, weather division chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration ( PAGASA), said Dindo could enhance the southwest monsoon, but will not hit landmass.

“We don’t expect heavy monsoon rains from this ty- phoon,” Cayanan said.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the eye of the typhoon was located 1,165 kilometers east-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, packing winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

Dindo was forecast to move south-southwest at a speed of seven kilometers per hour.

Rene Paciente, PAGASA’s marine meteorological services section chief, said Dindo was expected to exit the Philippines on Saturday.

Paciente said they are monitoring two low-pressure areas located west and east of the country.

He said the low-pressure area off Sinait, Ilocos Sur is enhancing the southwest monsoon, triggering rains over parts of northern Luzon, southern Luzon and the Visayas.

“Ilocos region, Zambales, Bataan and Palawan will continue to experience monsoon rains in the next two days,” he said, adding the low-pressure area off Ilocos Sur has a slim chance of developing into a cyclone.

La Niña

Meanwhile, PAGASA said latest forecasts of international climate prediction centers continued to indicate the development of a La Niña later this year.

Based on the forecast of Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, there is a 55 to 60 percent probability of a La Niña development during the September-October-November season.

“It is likely that a weak and short-lived La Niña will develop in either late September or October,” Analiza Solis, officer-in-charge of PAGASA’s climate monitoring and prediction section, said in the same press conference.

Solis said above normal rains are expected in some parts of the country in the coming months, especially the eastern section.