Southwest monsoon to bring more rain on Independence Day

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MANILA, Philippines – It will be a rainy Independence Day for Luzon and Western Visayas on Tuesday, June 12, as the southwest monsoon is expected to bring more rain.

In a bulletin issued 4 pm on Monday, June 11, state weather bureau PAGASA warned Metro Manila, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte that they will experience moderate to heavy rain on Independence Day. Residents should be on alert for floods and landslides.

The rest of Luzon as well as Western Visayas will also have light to moderate rain, which could trigger floods in low-lying areas. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

“Ang typical na characteristic ng southwest monsoon, may mga pagkakataon na nagkakaroon tayo ng break, mga one to two hours na hindi uulan, tapos uulan ulit ng malakas,” said PAGASA weather specialist Obet Badrina in a Facebook Live video.

(A typical characteristic of the southwest monsoon is that there are breaks, one or two hours without rain, then it will rain hard again.)

Since Independence Day is a regular holiday, there are no classes nationwide.

Mindanao and the rest of the Visayas, which are not affected by the southwest monsoon, will only experience isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms with “no significant impact.”

PAGASA said in its monthly outlook that there could be up to two tropical cyclones in June, so it is possible that the Philippines would have another one this month.

The state weather bureau declared the start of the rainy season last Friday, June 8. – Rappler.com