Weather: Approaching potential cyclone may not enter PHL

Hot weather and isolated thunderstorms loom even as an approaching potential cyclone may miss the country, state weather forecasters said Wednesday. Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration forecaster Joel Jesusa said the thunderstorms are most expected in the afternoon and evening. "Wala tayong bagyo o low-pressure area sa Philippine area of responsibility. Localized thunderstorms ang nagpaulan sa atin kagabi sa Metro Manila at ibang kalapit bayan natin. Mangyayari po uli ang mga localized thunderstorms ngayong araw na ito," Jesusa said in an interview on dzBB radio. (We do not see any cyclone or low-pressure area in the Philippine area of responsibility. The rain that fell on parts of Metro Manila Tuesday night was due to localized thunderstorms. We can expect more localized thunderstorms today.) He said Metro Manila can expect hot weather with the temperature ranging from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Low-pressure area Jesusa also said a low-pressure area approaching Philippine territory has little chance of entering the Philippine area of responsibility at this time. The LPA would have been codenamed "Mina" had it entered Philippine territory and intensified into a tropical cyclone. "Nasa labas pa siya ng Philippine area of responsibility at northward ang direction niya, nakikita natin mababa ang chance pumasok siya sa ating area. Kung pumasok, masyadong malayo para magkaroon ng direct effect sa atin," he said. (It is outside Philippine territory and heading north. It has a low chance of entering our territory. Even if it enters the Philippine area of responsibility, it has very little chance of affecting the country.) Meanwhile, PAGASA said a wind convergence is affecting Eastern Visayas and Mindanao while a moderate to strong southwesterly surface windflow is prevailing over Luzon. "Extreme northern and southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rains over Mindanao and Eastern Visayas," it said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, it added. — RSJ, GMA News