By Catherine J. Teves
MANILA, Aug. 15 (PNA) — Government weather forecasters foresee that Mindanao may experience occasional rain in next week if the Pacific tropical cyclone (TC), with international name ‘Goni,’ further moves closer to the country, enhancing the southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ then.
“Such development can bring light to heavy rains there,” said forecaster Aldczar Aurelio from State weather agency Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
PAGASA spotted ‘Goni’ at 2,520 kilometers east of Southern Luzon as of 8 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 15), still outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
‘Goni’ is moving west-northwest at 15 kilometers per hour (kph), PAGASA said.
If ‘Goni’ track such direction at the same speed, Aurelio said this TC might enter PAR on Wednesday (Aug. 19) and further enhance ‘habagat.’
He said once ‘Goni’ enters PAR, its local name would be ‘Ineng.’
‘Ineng’ will be the ninth TC in the country this year.
Should ‘Ineng’ move northwards, it would ‘pull’ the southwest monsoon’s concentration of rains towards this direction, PAGASA said.
Such would bring occasional rain to Mindanao, the Visayas as well as Luzon’s Mimaropa, Bicol and Calabarzon regions, noted PAGASA.
“Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will continue to have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms,” PAGASA also said in its outlook for next week.
Aurelio, also noted that the TC could bring rain to Taiwan and Luzon’s northernmost Batanes province.
According to PAGASA, ‘Goni’ packed maximum winds of 85 kilometers per hour near its center and gustiness of up to 100 kilometers per hour as of 8 a.m. Saturday.
‘Goni’ already intensified into a storm, noted Aurelio.
“It’s possible for ‘Goni’ to intensify further as this TC’s still over Pacific waters,” he said.
PAGASA noted ‘Goni’ is one of two TCs in the Pacific at present.
Following ‘Goni’ is TC ‘Atsani’ which PAGASA described as still too far to affect the Philippines.
Experts said ‘Atsani’ is already a storm which can further intensify also.(PNA)