Typhoon Noul's Trough and Enhanced Habagat to Bring Rain Across Most of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The trough of typhoon Noul, formerly Kiyapo, and the southwest monsoon, or habagat, persist to affect major parts of the country until Sunday, July 26, the state weather bureau said. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Daniel Villamil said during the 5 p.m weather advisory on Saturday that the extension of typhoon Noul may bring rains over Cagayan, Batanes, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte. READ: Pagasa: Expect heavy rains over Luzon Saturday afternoon due to habagat “Its trough or extension is currently affecting the extreme northern Luzon area; therefore, from this afternoon through tomorrow, we will continue to experience rainfall in parts of Northern Luzon—specifically in Cagayan, Batanes, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte,” Villamil said in Filipino. As of 5 p.m, the typhoon was located 560 kilometers (km) west of Itbayat, Batanes, moving west northwestward at 30 km per hour. It packs maximum sustained winds of 130 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 160 km per hour, according to Pagasa. Metro Manila and major parts of Luzon may experience scattered rains and thunderstorms due to the enhanced southwest monsoon. “In Metro Manila and most of Luzon, cloudy skies and scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will continue due to the southwest monsoon,” he added. He added that the southwest monsoon will largely affect Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, bringing 50 up to 100 millimeters of rain within the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, fair weather conditions are expected to prevail over Northern Mindanao, while cloudy skies and rains are forecast to subside over Eastern Visayas. “Generally improving weather conditions na rin ang mararamdaman sa area Northern Mindanao. Mababawasan na rin yung mga sustain na kalupaan at pag ulan sa may Eastern Visayas,” he reported. Parts of Luzon may only experience partly cloudy to cloudy with no sustained rains expected starting Tuesday, July 28, until Wednesday, Villamil said. “Starting Tuesday and Wednesday, we expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies across a large part of Luzon; we no longer anticipate sustained cloudiness or rainfall,” he stated. /jpv