MANILA, Philippines – A low pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and the southwest monsoon or habagat are bringing rain to parts of the Philippines on Monday, September 4.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Batanes is still experiencing scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the trough or extension of Severe Tropical Storm Hanna (Haikui), which left PAR as a typhoon on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, an LPA was located 870 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon on Monday afternoon.

The LPA may develop into a tropical depression within 24 hours, according to PAGASA Weather Specialist Benison Estareja. Its local name would be Ineng.

The LPA has a slim chance of hitting land but may stay inside PAR in the next two days.

Estareja said both the LPA and Hanna are still enhancing the southwest monsoon.

The LPA’s trough is bringing scattered rain showers and thunderstorms to Cagayan and Isabela. PAGASA warned of possible flooding or landslides during periods of moderate to heavy rain.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon is still affecting the country, especially parts of Central Luzon and Mimaropa.

Monsoon rain, or frequent rain reaching heavy to intense levels, is expected in Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro

Occasional rain, generally moderate to heavy, is expected in Metro Manila, the rest of Ilocos Region, Apayao, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Batangas.

The rest of Luzon can expect scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, while the rest of the country may have isolated rain showers or thunderstorms either due to the southwest monsoon or localized thunderstorms.

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For coastal waters, PAGASA released a new gale warning at 5 pm on Monday. The following seaboards have rough to very rough waters due to Hanna and the enhanced southwest monsoon:

• western seaboard of Central Luzon and Southern Luzon (Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Island, northern part of Palawan including Calamian, Cuyo, and Kalayaan Islands) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high
• western seaboard of Northern Luzon (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high
• seaboard of extreme Northern Luzon, southern seaboard of Southern Luzon, and western seaboard of Visayas (Batanes, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Antique, Aklan) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high
• northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon (Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela) – waves 2.8 to 4.5 meters high

The weather bureau advised fishing boats and other small vessels not to sail, and larger vessels to watch out for big waves.

If it develops into a tropical depression, Ineng would be the Philippines’ ninth tropical cyclone for 2023 and the first for September.

For the next 6 months, PAGASA estimated that 6 to 9 tropical cyclones may form within or enter PAR:

• September 2023 – 2 or 3
• October 2023 – 2 or 3
• November 2023 – 1 or 2
• December 2023 – 1 or 2
• January 2024 – 0 or 1
• February 2024 – 0 or 1

– Rappler.com