Obet to dump heavy rain; cold season starts

MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression Obet is expected to bring heavy rain over parts of Northern Luzon throughout the weekend, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

At the same time, PAGASA has officially declared the onset of the northeast monsoon or amihan season, signaling colder temperatures in the country.

Obet may intensify into a tropical storm tonight or early Saturday as it passes over extreme Northern Luzon.

Moderate to heavy with at times intense rain is possible over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Apayao, as well as the northern portions of Ilocos Norte and mainland Cagayan.

Light to moderate with at times heavy rains are also forecast over the northern portion of Abra, Cagayan, Ilocos Sur, the rest of Ilocos Norte and Kalinga.

Possible flooding and rain-induced landslides may occur during heavy rainfall, PAGASA warned.

Obet is forecast to track southwestward until this morning before turning west toward Luzon strait.

The eye of Obet may traverse the Babuyan Islands-Batanes area between tonight and tomorrow morning.

As of yesterday afternoon, Obet was spotted 650 km east of Basco, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometer per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 55 kph.

Tropical cyclone wind signal No. 1 was hoisted over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan including the towns of Santa Ana and Gonzaga.

Tropical cyclone wind signal No. 2 may be the highest signal to be hoisted during Obet’s passage, PAGASA said.

Meanwhile, cooler temperatures are expected as the northeast wind brings cold and dry air and gradually dominate over Northern Luzon.

“Surges of cold temperatures may also be expected in the coming months,” the advisory read.

PAGASA said that strong to gale-force northeasterly winds have prevailed over Northern Luzon for the past days due to the strengthening of the high-pressure system over Siberia.

The state weather bureau warned that the ongoing La Niña could enhance the amihan and trigger floods, flash floods and rain-induced landslides.