PHL storm-free until Wednesday -PAGASA

MANILA, Oct. 19 (PNA) -- The country will continue to be spared from storms in the next two to three days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Sunday.PAGASA weather forecaster Manny Mendoza told the Philippines News Agency they are not anticipating any cyclone to affect the country until Wednesday.Mendoza said the dominant weather system in the country now is the northeast monsoon or hanging amihan affecting the Northern Luzon.The northeast monsoon or hanging amihan” is the cold wind from Siberia that blows into the country, usually from October until March.Mendoza said that except in some parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, the presence of the northeast monsoon will bring isolated light rains over the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Region, Ilocos Region and Central Luzon while Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms.He said the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) will bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms over CARAGA, Western Visayas and the provinces of Misamis Oriental, Camiguin, Siquijor, Negros Oriental and Northern Palawan.ITCZ, which is the thick clouds coming from the south of Asia, is considered a breeding ground for low-pressure areas (LPAs) or potential cyclones.For Monday to Tuesday forecast, PAGASA said Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region, Cordillera and Central Luzon will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated light to moderate rains while Bicol Region and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will generally have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of isolated thunderstorms. In its advisory, PAGASA said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast to east will prevail over Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the southeast to east with slight to moderate seas.The weather bureau also issued a gale warning as strong to gale force winds due to the northeast monsoon affect the northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon. Fisherfolks and those using small seacrafts are advised not to venture out over the said seaboards, PAGASA warned. (PNA)SCS/CLTC