PAGASA monitors 'potential' cyclone off General Santos

State weather forecasters are now monitoring a shallow low-pressure area that they said has a chance of intensifying into a cyclone. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the SLPA threatens to bring flash floods to parts of Mindanao Wednesday. "Maliit ang posibilidad ito maging ganap na bagyong tropical. Gayunpaman hindi natin maaring i-discount ang posibilidad ng kanyang pag-develop (For now it has a small chance of becoming a tropical cyclone. But we cannot discount the possibility of it developing into one, and we are closely watching it)," PAGASA forecaster Elvie Enriquez said in an interview on dzBB radio. If the SLPA intensifies into a cyclone and enters Philippine territory, it will be codenamed "Chedeng." PAGASA said that as of 2 a.m. Wednesday, the SLPA was estimated at 450 km east of General Santos City and embedded along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao. It added that a cold front is affecting extreme Northern Luzon. Meanwhile, Enriquez said Tuesday night's rains were isolated and do not necessarily mean the rainy season has arrived. "Hangin pa rin natin easterly at southeasterly ibig sabihin mainit pa (The winds here are easterly and southeasterly, indicating the weather will still be hot)," she said. — RSJ, GMA News