DOST: Rainy long weekend looms over parts of Luzon

Published August 25, 2011 8:43am

The coming long weekend might be rainy one especially for Metro Manila and parts of Luzon due to Tropical Storm Mina (Nanmadol), the Department of Science and Technology said Thursday. DOST Undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr. also said there is a possibility Mina may intensify into a typhoon should it continue to gather strength. "From Saturday to Monday, 'Mina' may become a typhoon and dump monsoon rain over Luzon, particularly its northeast portion," Yumul said in an interview on dzXL radio. "Sa long weekend na hanggang Tuesday (Aaug. 30), ang pinakamagandang puntahan ay ang Visayas at Mindanao," Yumul said. MalacaÃ±ang earlier declared Aug. 30 a holiday to mark Eid'l Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims; and Aug. 29, National Heroes' Day, is also a holiday. Meanwhile, Yumul said there is a chance Mina may intensify into a typhoon if it continues to gather strength as it is still over the ocean. He said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration's 5 a.m. bulletin indicated Mina has maximum sustained winds of 105 kph near the center. PAGASA said a cyclone becomes a typhoon if its winds near the center reach 118 kph or greater. "[Ngayon, si Mina] ay may 105 kph na, kaunti na lang at magiging typhoon na siya," Yumul said. PAGASA's classification of tropical cyclones are as follows: