A combination of the southwesterly wind flow and the trough of a tropical storm outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) will continue to drench parts of the Visayas, Mindanao, and Palawan, the state weather bureau reported on Thursday.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the southwesterly wind flow is expected to bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over Western Visayas, the Negros Island Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, and Palawan within the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the extension or trough of the tropical storm will trigger similar weather conditions across the rest of Mindanao.
Metro Manila, alongside the remaining areas of Luzon and Visayas, will experience generally fair weather with partly cloudy to cloudy skies, though isolated afternoon or evening downpours remain likely.
PAGASA weather specialist Loriedin dela Cruz-Galicia tracked the tropical storm, internationally named “Jangmi,” at 1,195 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas as of 3:00 AM Thursday. It packs maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 80 kph, moving north-northwest at a speed of 20 kph. Once it crosses into PAR, it will be locally christened “Domeng.”
“Base na rin sa track na ipinalabas natin kagabi sa ating tropical cyclone advisory, mabagal ang pagkilos niya over the past few hours. At sa mga susunod na araw ay medyo may kabagalan pa dahil nagko-consolidate pa at lumalakas pa ito at lalo na’t malakas din ang high-pressure area na nakakahadlang sa kanya upang ito ay kumilos pa-northwestward,” dela Cruz-Galicia explained.
“Pero most likely ay papasok ito ng area of responsibility likely between tonight o bukas ng umaga. Posible pumasok ‘yan as tropical storm or severe tropical storm,” she added.
While inside PAR, the weather disturbance is projected to steadily gain strength. Forecasters predict it could intensify into a typhoon over the Philippine Sea before exiting the country’s jurisdiction by Monday, June 1.
While the storm is unlikely to make landfall anywhere in the archipelago, it is expected to significantly amplify the southwest monsoon, promising heavier rains over the weekend.
“Dahil nakikita natin na mababa ang tsansa na mag-landfall ito sa anumang bahagi ng bansa, ang scenario nito ay ma-eenhance niya ‘yung southwesterly wind flow at ‘yung southwesterly wind flow ang magdudulot ng malawakang pag-ulan sa malaking bahagi ng Visayas, sa ilang bahagi ng Mindanao, pati sa Southern Luzon, lalong-lalo na starting by weekend hanggang early next week,” dela Cruz-Galicia warned.
“Ngayon may mga ulan na dulot ng southwesterly wind flow pero inaasahan nating madadagdagan pa ang mga makakaranas ng mga pag-ulan lalong-lalo na by weekend hanggang early next week dahil sa enhanced southwesterly wind flow,” she concluded.