Pagasa sees rainy election day

MANILA, Philippines — No tropical cyclone is likely to affect the country during the elections on Monday, but rains are expected due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), the state weather bureau said yesterday.

In its special weather outlook for the May 13 midterm polls, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the ITCZ – a breeding ground for potential cyclones or low-pressure areas – will bring cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms over the Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Luzon, particularly the Cordillera Administrative Region, will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with afternoon rainshowers or thunderstorms.

During the weekend, a low-pressure area – which is embedded in the ITCZ – will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorms across the country that may trigger flash floods and landslides.

PAGASA weather division chief Esperanza Cayanan said the low- pressure area was not expected to intensify into a tropical cyclone within the next three to five days.

Cayanan also said the coastal waters will be slight except during thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, PAGASA has not yet officially declared the end of the dry season.

But PAGASA weather forecaster Robert Sawi said the heavy downpour which caused floods in parts of Metro Manila late Wednesday was an indication that the rainy season is coming.

Sawi said the rains were caused by a frontal system where warm and cold air masses interact.