PAGASA: Expect colder mornings, 1 cyclone before yearend

A cold front affecting northern Luzon will bring colder mornings as Christmas draws closer, state weather forecasters said Tuesday. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also said at least one cyclone may be expected in Philippine territory before end-2010. "We expect colder mornings due to the northeast winds and tail-end of a cold front affecting Northern Luzon," PAGASA forecaster Elvie Enriquez said in Filipino in an interview on dzBB radio Tuesday. On the other hand, she said Mindanao can expect cloudy skies and rainshowers due to an inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). PAGASA's 5 a.m. bulletin indicated the tail-end of a cold front is prevailing over northern Luzon and an ITCZ is affecting Mindanao. "Northern and Eastern Luzon, Eastern Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," it said. Coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough. Also, strong to gale force winds are expected to affect the seaboards of Luzon. Meanwhile, Enriquez said a low-pressure area that PAGASA was monitoring Monday is no longer likely to become a cyclone. "[But] there is a possibility of one more cyclone this month, most likely in Mindanao. It is too cold in the north for a cyclone to form," she said. — LBG, GMANews.TV