Rains to persist until March

MANILA, Philippines - The prevailing La Niña-like conditions will continue to bring rains in some areas in the country until the second week of March, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

PAGASA’s climate monitoring and prediction section officer-in-charge Ana Liza Solis said the eastern section of Luzon and the Visayas, and the eastern
and western portions of Mindanao, would continue to experience near to above normal rainfall.

“By February, we expect a major weather system, either a frontal system, a low-pressure area or a tropical cyclone which could bring heavy rains over the country,” Solis told The STAR.

Continuous heavy rains in the past weeks have triggered severe flooding in several areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Although the prevalence of the tail-end of a cold front and low-pressure area is normal during this time of the year, Solis said the La Niña-like conditions induced extreme rainfall events in the past weeks.

“La Niña-like conditions continue, as impacts have been seen in some flood- and landslide-prone areas in the country,” she said.

The La Niña condition, she said, is expected to end next month and a neutral condition is likely to continue through the first half of 2017.

“Even if we return to neutral condition next month, we can still expect lagged effects of the La Niña condition, which means some areas of the country will still receive above normal rainfall.”

Solis said four to seven cyclones are likely to develop or enter the Philippine area of responsibility until June.