MANILA, Philippines – The southwest monsoon, locally known as ‘habagat,’ would be the dominant weather system in the coming days, bringing occasional, scattered rains and thunderstorms particularly over Luzon and the Visayas, the state weather bureau said on Tuesday.
Weather specialist Veronica Torres of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in a 5 a.m. briefing that habagat is bringing occasional rain over Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, and Occidental Mindoro.
She warned that flash floods or landslides may occur due to moderate to heavy rains in these areas.
Habagat will also affect Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, and Western Visayas, bringing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, according to Pagasa.
The rest of the country, meanwhile, would likely have partly to mostly cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over the next 24 hours, it added.
Although Pagasa has yet to declare the onset of the wet season, habagat is its primary indicator, the weather bureau said.