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Weather Today – June 17, 2015 | ITCZ prevails, bringing rains over PH

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Rains will still be experienced over Mindanao, Visayas and Palawan due to the prevailing ITCZ or intertropical convergence zone. Cloudy skies will dump light to moderate rains and thunderstorms over these areas. Meanwhile, the rest of the country will have generally fair weather with chances of isolated thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

During the past months, the ITCZ did not affect any part of the country, but when June came, it became one of the dominant weather systems. According to PAGASA Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza, the axis of the ITCZ moves northward and southward depending on the seasons and the orientation of the sun.

Now that the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere is just a few days away, the ITCZ is expected to oscillate or move northward, affecting the Philippines this June. Its axis can reach, not only the provinces of Mindanao, but also the Visayas area. This weather system is also dubbed as the breeding ground of low pressure areas (LPA), which may develop into tropical cyclones.

Meanwhile, Mendoza added that due to the expected El Niño intensification in the coming months, stronger tropical cyclones are also possible. During the years when the country experienced El Niño, the number of cyclones decreased but the intensities were much stronger than the usual.