Hotter day than 38-degree Wednesday still possible — PAGASA

The sweltering 38-degree weather Wednesday may not be the hottest for Metro Manila residents this year; hotter days might still be coming before the rainy season begins in June. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said it is still possible temperatures can go higher in the coming days. "Yung pinakamainit ang naitala natin so far, dahil noong 1987 nag-record tayo ng 38.5 degrees. So di pa rin natin masabi ito na nga ang pinakamainit ngayong summer (Wednesday was the highest temperature so far, and I emphasize 'so far' because the highest temperature had been recorded in 1987, at 38.5 degrees. So we cannot say for sure that Wednesday was the hottest day)," PAGASA forecaster Elvie Enriquez said in an interview on dzBB radio. But for Thursday, she said temperatures are expected to be cooler, maybe between 27 and 36 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, PAGASA's extended forecast indicated the temperature range for Metro Manila on Friday and Saturday may be slightly hotter at 27 to 37 degrees. Temperatures in Tuguegarao City may range from 23 to 37 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, PAGASA said the tail-end of a cold front across Extreme Northern Luzon and an Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao may bring rains to these areas. "Luzon and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening," it said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. — LBG, GMANews.TV