Cloudy skies, rainshowers in Cebu as ‘Butchoy’ nears

CEBU, Philippines - Metro Cebu will continue to experience cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorms today until Friday, according to PAGASA in an extended weather forecast issued yesterday afternoon.

At 4 p.m. yesterday, a Low Pressure Area (LPA) was estimated at 85 km east of Catarman, Northern Samar (12.6N, 125.4E) embedded along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting Southern Luzon and Visayas.

PAGASA noted that the center of Tropical Storm "Nepartak" outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) was estimated at 2,060 km east of Mindanao (9.5N, 145.0E) with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometer per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.

It is forecast to move northwest at 7 kph.

Once it will enter PAR by Tuesday, Nepartak will be named "Butchoy", the first of three tropical cyclones expected to enter PAR this month.

PAGASA-Visayas weather specialist I Romeo Aguirre said no gale warning has been issued just yet as Butchoy has not entered the country just yet. It has, however, intensified as a tropical storm with gustiness between 65-80 kph.   Aguirre said Metro Cebu and the rest of the country's coastal waters is slight to moderate.

PAGASA forecasted further that Butchoy is expected to be at 2,030 km east of the Visayas this morning. By Tuesday morning, Butchoy is expected to be at 2,000 km east of Luzon.

On Wednesday morning, Butchoy is expected to be at 1,070 km east of Itbayat, Batanes and by Thursday morning, it is expected to be at 1,030 km northeast of Itbayat, Batanes.

Meanwhile, in preparation for heavy rains, Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing said the city has extracted two flatbed trucks of garbage at the waterway in Barangay Subangdaku during dredging yesterday.

The operation cleared the waterways in Subangdaku and Tipolo.

"There is still silting but the trash blocking the bridge is clear. However, trash from up the creek will build up again If we don't stop littering," Quisumbing said.

It can be recalled that Barangay Tipolo was flooded, among other barangays in the city, last Friday as rainwater could not flow due to tons of garbage at the Tipolo Creek. As a result of the flooding, the city's traffic was almost at a standstill.

Continuous dredging operations will be carried out today and Tuesday. — (FREEMAN)