Weather Today – January 12, 2015 | Amihan prevails today; LPA expected to enter PAR Thursday

The northeast monsoon or “hanging amihan” still prevails over Luzon this Monday, bringing cloudy skies with light rains over the regions of Cagayan Valley and Cordillera. Isolate cases of light rains are also expected in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.

Eastern Visayas, CARAGA and Davao regions, on the other hand, will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorm, while the rest of Visayas and Mindanao can expect a fair weather condition apart from localized thunderstorms.

Strong to gale force wind is expected to affect the seaboards of Luzon and Visayas. Sea travel is risky due to the rough to very rough sea conditions generated by the strong surge of the northeast monsoon.

Meanwhile, PAGASA continues to monitor the low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

PAGASA Weather Forecaster Buddy Javier says it is expected to enter PAR on Thursday. Current analysis of the forecasting models show three scenarios of what may happen to the said weather disturbance – to dissipate, to recurve or to intensify as a tropical cyclone, which would make it the first bagyo this year.

In other news, a 4.9-magnitude earthquake was recorded 73 kms. east of Hernani in Eastern Samar at 12:07 this morning. There are no expected aftershocks or damage that may occur in the following hours, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).