SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat is dumping rain in much of Luzon on Thursday, August 31, including in Metro Manila.
Monsoon rain, or frequent rain reaching heavy to intense levels, will persist in Zambales, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro.
Occasional rain, generally moderate to heavy, is hitting Metro Manila, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, and much of the Ilocos Region.
Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms are also seen in parts of the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley, as well as the rest of Central Luzon, the rest of Calabarzon, and the rest of Mimaropa. Similar conditions persist in Antique, too.
In a briefing past 5 am on Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) advised affected areas to watch out for floods and landslides.
The enhanced southwest monsoon is also bringing gusty conditions to these areas:
Thursday, August 31, and Friday, September 1
- Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Zambales, Bataan, Aurora, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, northern part of Eastern Visayas
Saturday, September 2
- Zambales, Bataan, Aurora, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, northern part of Eastern Visayas
For coastal waters, most seaboards of Luzon and the Visayas remain under a gale warning.
The southwest monsoon is being enhanced mainly by Super Typhoon Goring (Saola), which left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday evening, August 30.
Goring was last spotted 335 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes, as of 3 am on Thursday. It is moving west or away from the Philippines at 20 kilometers per hour (km/h).
The super typhoon continues to have maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h and gustiness of up to 240 km/h.
PAGASA warned that the trough or extension of Goring may still cause scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms in Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, and Apayao on Thursday, even as it continues to move away.
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The southwest monsoon is also being slightly enhanced by Severe Tropical Storm Hanna (Haikui), which entered PAR shortly after Goring’s exit on Wednesday.
Hanna was located 1,225 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon at 4 am on Thursday, moving west northwest at a slightly faster 20 km/h from the previous 15 km/h.
The severe tropical storm still has maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h and gustiness of up to 115 km/h.
PAGASA sees Hanna gradually strengthening until late Saturday, September 2, or early Sunday, September 3, when it could reach its peak intensity. It could become a typhoon within 36 hours inside PAR.
Hanna itself is not affecting the Philippines since it is expected to remain far from landmass. It is not bringing rain, there are no tropical cyclone wind signals in effect, and it is “less likely” to cause rough sea conditions.
Hanna could exit PAR on Friday afternoon or evening, September 1, then make landfall in mainland China on Sunday. “Rapid weakening will ensue following its landfall over mainland China,” the weather bureau said.
Goring and Hanna are the Philippines’ seventh and eighth tropical cyclones for 2023, respectively.
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
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