Pagasa declares start of rainy season as ‘Domeng’ intensifies into tropical storm
THE Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) declared on Friday the official start of the rainy season in the Philippines, with “Domeng” marking the change by intensifying into a tropical storm.
“Due to the prevalent occurrence of thunderstorms and the dominance of the southwest monsoon or ‘Habagat’, the rainy season officially begins today, [Friday]” weather specialist Cris Perez said during a press briefing.
The onset of the rainy season means intermittent to continuous rains will be more frequent in the country, he said.
As of 11 a.m., tropical storm “Domeng” was 655 kilometers (km) east of Tuguegarao, Cagayan.
It packs stronger winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 80 kph.
While Domeng is unlikely to make landfall in the country, it will continue to trigger monsoon rains in Metro Manila and other portions of Luzon and Visayas until this weekend.
Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, and the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, and Zambales will experience moderate to occasional heavy rains with possible flooding or landslides caused by Domeng and the southwest monsoon.
Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon make up Calabarzon while Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan make up Mimaropa.
The rest of Luzon and Visayas will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms because of the southwest monsoon.
Meanwhile, Mindanao will have partly cloudy-to-cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers caused by localized thunderstorms, Pagasa said.
Domeng is expected to be 2,030 km east-northeast of Basco, Batanes, outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Monday morning. GLEE JALEA
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