MANILA, Philippines – The low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) dissipated on Thursday, December 23.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the LPA was reduced to a cloud cluster and it will have no impact on the country.

“Malayo po ito sa ating Philippine landmass, kaya hindi natin inaasahan na magdudulot po ito ng anumang mga pag-ulan sa anumang bahagi ng ating bansa,” said PAGASA Weather Specialist Ana Clauren.

(It’s far from Philippine landmass, so we don’t expect it to trigger rain in any part of the country.)

Clauren added that no potential tropical cyclone is seen in the next two to three days.

PAGASA earlier said the LPA had a 60% to 70% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone. It had been expected to enter PAR either Sunday, December 26, or Monday, December 27.

For Christmas Eve or Friday, December 24, the Philippines will have generally fair weather.

There may be isolated light rain in Batanes and Babuyan Islands due to the northeast monsoon or hanging amihan, but PAGASA said this would have “no significant impact.”

The intertropical convergence zone may also cause isolated rain showers, especially in the southern part of Mindanao.

There could be brief periods of rain elsewhere in the country due to localized thunderstorms as well.

There have been 15 tropical cyclones inside PAR in 2021, with Typhoon Odette (Rai) the most recent and also the strongest for the year. – Rappler.com