PAGASA: Tropical storm won’t hit land, but will enhance monsoon

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MANILA, Philippines – State weather bureau PAGASA continues to monitor a tropical storm with the international name Nepartak, which is still outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

As of 4 pm on Monday, July 4, Nepartak was located 1,765 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes, moving northwest at a much faster 30 kilometers per hour (km/h). It had been moving at just 7 km/h on Sundafy, July 3.

Nepartak will be given the local name Butchoy when it enters PAR on Tuesday, July 5.

The tropical storm now has maximum winds of 85 km/h and gustiness of up to 100 km/h. PAGASA told Rappler that Nepartak could still strengthen into a typhoon.

It is not expected to directly hit any province since it is moving upward in the direction of Taiwan, but would enhance the southwest monsoon. In the past, enhanced monsoon rains triggered floods in the country.

On Monday afternoon, newly appointed National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad called on the local government units to be on alert for possible floods and landslides due to heavy rainfall.

Jalad met with representatives of other agencies  in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday to conduct a pre-disaster risk assessment (PDRA) meeting. 

Tuesday weather forecast

Meanwhile, light to moderate rains and thunderstorms will persist on Tuesday, even before the tropical storm enters PAR.

In its bulletin issued 5 pm on Monday, PAGASA said the regions of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas, as well as the provinces of Cagayan, Zambales, and Bataan will be affected.

The rest of the country, including Metro Manila, will have isolated rains or thunderstorms. 

The rains are due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Southern Luzon and the Visayas.

PAGASA said the low pressure area (LPA) east of Catarman, Northern Samar already dissipated Monday morning.

City	Forecast		Temperature Range
Metro Manila		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-32°C
Tuguegarao		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	25°C-34°C
Laoag		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-32°C
Baguio		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	16°C-23°C
Subic/Olongapo; Clark/Angeles		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	24°C-32°C
Tagaytay		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	23°C-28°C
Lipa		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	23°C-30°C
Legazpi		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-32°C
Puerto Princesa		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	25°C-32°C
Iloilo/Bacolod		Cloudy with rainshowers and thunderstorms	24°C-31°C
Metro Cebu		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-31°C
Tacloban		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-30°C
Cagayan de Oro		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-33°C
Valencia		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	19°C-29°C
Metro Davao		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	25°C-34°C
Zamboanga		Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms	24°C-33°C

– With a report from Voltaire Tupaz/Rappler.com