Rainy weekend from ‘habagat’

Tropical depression “Ofel” left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) before dawn Friday but the southwest monsoon or “habagat” will continue to bring rains across the country this weekend. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) last spotted Ofel 500 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales at 4 a.m. or already outside PAR, with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 55 kph and will continue to move west-northwest at 20 kph. Though Ofel is already outside PAR, the habagat will bring light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Zamboanga Peninsula. (Alexandria Dennise San Juan)