The low-pressure area east of the country entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility late Saturday evening and could develop into tropical depression “Dodong” in the next two to three days.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration weather specialist Gener Quitlong said the LPA was last spotted at 890 kilometers east-northeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar early yesterday morning.
Should it become a tropical depression in the next two to three days, it will be given a local name “Dodong,” the first tropical cyclone in the country this month and fourth this year.
It is less likely to make landfall over any part of the country as of the moment, Quitlong said. “It will just brush past the Pacific Ocean, only moving close to Bicol region and eastern Luzon,” he added.
Eastern Visayas and Mindanao will have cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms due to the trough or advancing clouds of the LPA today.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will continue to experience warm and humid mornings and isolated rain showers in the afternoon or evening.
PAGASA warned that rains, especially during severe thunderstorms, could trigger possible flash floods or landslides over low-lying and mountainous areas in the entire archipelago.
Quitlong said the effect of the “habagat” or southeast monsoon over parts of the country could re-intensify by Wednesday.
There is a possibility that the weather disturbance may enhance the effects of the habagat that could bring scattered monsoon rains over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas, including Metro Manila, by Wednesday.
Quitlong said Central Luzon, including Bulacan where Angat Dam is located, could possibly experience light to moderate monsoon rains to at times heavy rains during thunderstorms.
It could mean a respite from the rain-parched Angat watershed, which breached its 160-meter critical level last Saturday.
The National Water Resources Board had earlier said that heavy rains over the watershed area could help normalize the level of Angat Dam. Its normal high water level is at 210 meters. (Ellalyn Ruiz)