PAGASA: Early rain over NCR not from cyclone

The rain that fell on parts of Metro Manila early Tuesday morning was not from a cyclone, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. PAGASA forecaster Connie Dadivas said that while they are now tracking a cyclone - a tropical depression - it is still outside Philippine territory as of 5 a.m. "Walang low-pressure area sa loob ng Philippine area of responsibility pero may tropical depression sa labas ng boundary ng Philippine area of responsibility (So far there is no low-pressure area in Philippine territory but there is a tropical depression just at the boundary)," Dadivas said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said the tropical depression is moving north but there is still a possibility it may enter Philippine territory. If the cyclone enters Philippine territory, it will be locally codenamed "Mina." "Tinitingnan natin kasi papataas ang direction nito pero pupuwede ring papasok siya mino-monitor natin ito (We have to continue tracking it even if it appears to be moving north at this time. There is still a chance it will enter Philippine territory)," Dadivas said. Meanwhile, PAGASA said a wind convergence is affecting Mindanao while a moderate to strong southwesterly windflow is affecting Luzon. "Northern and Central Luzon and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," PAGASA said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. It added moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough. — RSJ, GMA News