MANILA, Philippines – The cloud clusters have turned into a low-pressure area (LPA), which is likely to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and intensify into a tropical depression to be called ‘Basyang,’ the national weather bureau said on Tuesday.
Weather specialist Chenel Dominguez of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in a 5 a.m. briefing that the LPA, estimated to be some 1,350 kilometers east of northeastern Mindanao, was seen to enter PAR at any time of the day.
Once it develops into a tropical depression, Dominguez reiterated that it would be named Basyang, the first cyclone to hit the country this month and the second this year.
Based on its forecast track, the LPA will likely pass between Mindanao and Visayas, bringing rain starting Thursday through the weekend.
In the meantime, Visayas, Caraga, Davao Region, and Misamis Oriental could experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and isolated thunderstorms due to convergence of hot and cold air or shear line.
The other weather system, the northeast monsoon, locally known as ‘amihan,’ would affect Batanes and Babuyan Islands, bringing overcast skies with light rains, Pagasa said.
The rest of Mindanao, on the other hand, would likely have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.
Pagasa said amihan could also affect Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, bringing partly cloudy to cloudy skies, with isolated light rains within 24 hours.
