Weather Today – February 2, 2018

The country remains storm-free on the first Friday of the month. However, the presence of two weather systems, including the Northeast Monsoon and Easterlies will bring rains in several parts of the archipelago.

The Northeast Monsoon, locally known as Hanging Amihan, is characterized by cold and dry air, which peaks during January until February. On the other hand, the Easterlies, which are warm and humid winds, originate from the Pacific Ocean.

In the next hours, cloudy skies with scattered rains are expected in Cagayan Valley and the province of Aurora. Residents of Ilocos Region and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains.

Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas and Caraga will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms. Metro Manila and the remaining parts of the archipelago will experience generally fair weather apart from the isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, mostly in the latter part of the day.

The surge of Amihan continues to affect the sea condition, prompting the weather bureau to issue a gale warning in the northern, eastern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon. Wave height could reach up to 4.8 meters, which is very risky for fishing boats and other small seacraft.

Apart from the rains and bumpy coastal waters, the temperatures are also affected by Amihan. In an interview with PAGASA Weather Forecaster Samuel Duran, he mentioned that the coolest breeze is usually felt during the month of February, where lower temperatures are often recorded.