PH TRANSITIONING TO RAINY SEASON

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration on Sunday, May 18, said no weather disturbances are currently being monitored inside or outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

- By ELLALYN RUIZ

However, the public is advised to prepare for more frequent thunderstorms as the country transitions into the rainy season.

“So far, we are not monitoring any low-pressure area or tropical cyclone inside or outside the PAR. The possibility of having a weather disturbance remains quite low in the next few days,” said PAGASA weather specialist Obet Badrina in a public weather briefing.

Although there is no tropical cyclone as of Sunday, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) may continue to bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, and Palawan.

The ITCZ, where winds from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres converge, can trigger flash floods and landslides in affected areas, especially during moderate to heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country may continue to experience hot conditions, with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening brought by the easterlies, or warm winds from the Pacific Ocean.

Thunderstorms generally last between 30 minutes and an hour, but can occasionally extend up to two hours.

Badrina warned that some of these thunderstorms may become severe and bring heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning, which could pose a risk of localized flooding or landslides, particularly in floodand landslide-prone areas.