Cloudy Saturday for PH

MANILA, Philippines (4th UPDATE) – It will be a cloudy Saturday, December 19, throughout the country, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

As of 7:00 pm Saturday, PAGASA also said that the following areas should expect a yellow-level alert, denoting possible flooding in low-lying areas.

• Metro Manila
• Bulacan
• Nueva Ecija
• Tarlac
• Zambales
• Pampanga
• Laguna
• Rizal
• Northern Quezon

Light to moderate rains are also expected to affect Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, and the rest of Quezon persisting for approximately 2-3 hours.

As of 4:00 pm Saturday, the low pressure area formerly known as Tropical Depression Onyok was located in the vicinity of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

PAGASA added in its latest weather forecast that the northeast monsoon is affecting northern and central Luzon, while the tail-end of a cold front is affecting southern Luzon.

Because of these, cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms – which may trigger flashfloods and landslides – will be experienced over Mindanao, the Bicol Region, western Visayas, and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon.

Over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, cloudy skies with light to moderate rains will prevail.

The skies will be cloudy, too, in central and eastern Visayas, with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms.

In its 11 am weather advisory, PAGASA said that strong to gale-force northeasterly surface wind flow, associated with the surge of the northeast monsoon, “is expected to affect the northern, eastern, and western seaboards of Luzon and the eastern seaboards of Visayas and Mindanao.”

Therefore, small seacrafts and fishing vessels are warned against venturing out into the sea due to big waves caused by this weather system. 

Rainfall warnings

Meanwhile, PAGASA issued updates on its heavy rainfall warning advisories.

As of 4 pm Saturday, Metro Manila is now in the areas under the orange rainfall warning, along with Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and northern Quezon. In these areas, flooding is still threatening.

(READ: How to use PAGASA’s color-coded rainfall advisory)

The rainfall warnings over Batangas and the rest of Quezon were then lowered to the yellow level, joining Bataan and Bulacan. Flooding is possible in low-lying areas in these provinces, said PAGASA.

Meanwhile, light to moderate with occasional heavy rains are affecting southern Zambales and portions of Pampanga, which may persist for 2 to 3 hours.

PAGASA advises the public and concerned disaster risk reduction and management councils to monitor the weather conditions. – Rappler.com