Northeast monsoon bringing rain to Luzon on December 14

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MANILA, Philippines – The northeast monsoon or hanging amihan is affecting Luzon on Friday, December 14.

In a bulletin issued 4 am on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned that light to moderate rain is being experienced in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Isabela, Quezon, and Rizal.

Residents of those areas must be on alert for possible flash floods and landslides. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

Light rain is also hitting the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley, but PAGASA said there will be “no significant impact.”

The rest of Luzon only has isolated light rainshowers, which will not have any serious impact, added PAGASA.

Due to the northeast monsoon, a gale warning was also issued at 5 am on Friday for Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Aurora, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, the eastern coast of Albay, the eastern coast of Sorsogon, the eastern coast of Quezon including Polillo Island, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar.

Seas off those areas are rough to very rough, with wave heights reaching 2.8 meters to 4.5 meters.

PAGASA advised fishermen and others with small vessels not to set sail in areas covered by the gale warning. Larger vessels should watch out for big waves.

Meanwhile, the Visayas and Mindanao will only have localized thunderstorms on Friday. But there could also be flash floods and landslides if the thunderstorms become severe.

PAGASA is not monitoring any tropical cyclone at the moment, whether inside or outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

It earlier said that one to two tropical cyclones could enter or develop within PAR in December.

So far, the Philippines has had 20 tropical cyclones in 2018 – the average number it gets per year. (READ: LIST: PAGASA’s names for tropical cyclones in 2018)

PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season last June 8. – Rappler.com