Warm weather, thunderstorms ahead
The whole country will experience warm temperatures and isolated thunderstorms in the next few days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.
PAGASA weather forecaster Meno Mendoza said no weather disturbance is expected to affect the country in the next three days.
Mendoza said fair weather will continue to prevail in the country this week with chances of isolated thunderstorms.
In Metro Manila, the temperature will range from 23 to 32 degrees Celsius; 14 to 24 degrees Celsius in Baguio City; 23 to 32 degrees Celsius in Legazpi City, Albay; 24 to 32 degrees Celsius in Metro Cebu; and 24 to 34 degrees Celsius in Metro Davao.
PAGASA has yet to declare the onset of the dry or summer season in the country as the cold northeast monsoon still prevails over parts of Luzon.
The northeasterly wind continued to bring cloudy skies with scattered rains over Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon yesterday.
Samar provinces also experienced cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstroms yesterday due to the trough of severe tropical storm Jelawat (local name Caloy).
The agency is waiting for the termination of the northeasterlies – cold air from China and Siberia – before it declares the onset of summer.
PAGASA, however, explained that the declaration of dry season applies only to areas in the western Philippines, which has two pronounced seasons, dry and wet.
Areas under Type I climate include Metro Manila, Ilocos region, western part of Mountain Province, the western part of Nueva Ecija, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, southern parts of Antique and Iloilo, northwestern part of Palawan, and the southern parts of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
Last year, PAGASA declared the start of the dry season on April 5.
The warmest temperature on record is 42.2 degrees Celsius, which was registered on May 11, 1969 in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, the weather agency said.