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may29

The Ridge of High Pressure Area remains to be the dominant weather system over Luzon. Based on PAGASA’s weekly outlook, it is likely to prevail until the end of May.

This weather system presents hot and humid weather conditions in the Philippines. Skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy with chances of localized thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.

The weather bureau advises everyone to bring umbrellas, wear light-colored clothes and to drink water often for hydration. PAGASA also encourages Filipinos to monitor weather updates.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross will conduct a metro-wide earthquake drill from 3pm to 8pm today.

This initiative serves to teach the people what to do when an earthquake hits and where to seek refuge.

Here are the chosen schools transected by the West Valley Fault wherein the earthquake drills will be held:

equake

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The month of May may be down to its last days but the Philippines will still continue to experience hot weather due to the prevailing Ridge of High Pressure Area affecting Luzon.

This weather system will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies, bearing generally fair weather conditions. However, due to the heat, thunderstorm formation is still likely in the afternoon or evening.

In Metro Manila, the heat index forecast may reach up to 40 degrees Celsius today. With this temperature, food spoilage may easily occur. Avoid this from happening to secure your health: http://www.panahon.tv/blog/2015/04/slow-down-spoilage-this-sunny-season/

food

During this season, it is best to keep cool and use common sense to stay healthy during the warmer days. To prevent heat-related woes, read: http://www.panahon.tv/blog/2015/03/staying-cool-this-hot-season/

Tag-init Common Diseases Sunburn Series 1

The longer we stay under the sun, the more we are prone to dehydration. Aside from water, you can rehydrate in tastier ways. Know more here: http://www.panahon.tv/blog/2015/05/fruits-that-beat-the-hot-weather/

prutas taginit

Trough of LPA

The trough of the low pressure area (LPA) continues to extend over the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) particularly affecting extreme Northern Luzon. This weather system is expected to dump light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms over the islands of Batanes, Babuyan and Calayan.

Generally fair weather will prevail over Metro Manila and the rest of the country. However, due to the heat, isolated thunderstorms are still possible in the afternoon or evening.

Meanwhile, here are the highest temperatures recorded by PAGASA yesterday:

Highest Temp (1)

The heat index is still expected to be high in the following hours. This heat index is obtained when the maximum air temperature is combined with the relative humidity and serves as an indication of how warm the human body feels.

For Metro Manila, the heat index could rise at 39.5 degrees Celsius while Metro Cebu can feel as hot as 39.4 degrees Celsius. With Metro Cebu’s air temperature, the heat index could reach 36.9 degrees Celsius.

Rip current: One of the ocean’s deadly tricks

As the end of vacation season approaches, many of us take advantage of the remaining days by going to the beach.

While oceans give us the refreshing feeling of cooling down, it also has its dangers. Rip current is one of the risky things that swimmers and beach goers have to avoid. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of water flowing away from the beach and out past the breaking waves.

These currents can drag you out far from the shore, to the deeper part of the sea. Over the weekend, 3 people have died while 500 people were rescued in Florida due to dangerous rip currents.

One must be really observant and alert as rip currents can bring you to life-threatening scenarios. If one encounters a rip current, stay calm and don’t beat the current. Instead, swim sideways parallel to the shore or in an angle away from the current.

Photo courtesy: NOAA
Photo courtesy: NOAA

Rains will still be concentrated over Batanes, Babuyan and Calayan group of islands as the trough of the low pressure area (LPA) extends over extreme Northern Luzon. According to PAGASA Weather Forecaster Glaiza Escullar, this weather disturbance has a very slim chance of entering the boundary.

Escullar added that no tropical cyclone is threatening the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) so the country will remain “bagyo-free” within the next 3 days. Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Yesterday, most parts of Luzon experienced a warm weather. Here are the highest temperatures recorded on May 25, 2015:

Highest Temp

PAGASA has initially reported that the onset of the rainy season usually begins by mid-June as the southwest monsoon or “hanging habagat” starts to blow. However, rains will be primarily felt over the western sections of the country. These areas belong to the Climate Type 1, which experience the maximum rainfall during the month of June until September.

Climate Type 1

Heat wave kills hundreds in India

At least 500 people have died in large parts of India due to the blistering temperatures associated with the heat wave, which is the prolonged period of excessive hot weather.

Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defined it as a period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and unusually humid weather that lasts for two or more days. PAGASA WF Escullar said it also occurs when the maximum temperature crawls up to +5 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days.

High temperatures have been recorded, sizzling to almost 50 degrees Celsius. According to the reports, most of the recorded deaths were construction workers, elderlies and the homeless in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Ultra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Heat wave in India. AFP
Heat wave in India. AFP

May25 Trough

Hot weather is unstoppable as warm days are still expected to continue. Despite the trough of low pressure area (LPA) extending over the extreme Northern Luzon, most parts of the country can still experience generally fair weather. Based on PAGASA’s forecast, light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms will be concentrated over the islands of Batanes, Calayan and Babuyan. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.

A weather disturbance usually originates in the Pacific Ocean but it can also form over the West Philippine Sea, like what happened to the LPA that we are currently monitoring. Based on our history, there were cyclones that originated in the West Philippine Sea, which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

TC West PH sea

Meanwhile, warm weather was experienced yesterday with 36.5 degrees Celsius as the highest temperature.

May24 heat

According to PAGASA Weather Forecaster Glaiza Escullar, warm and humid weather is more likely to continue until the beginning of June. Based on climatological records, the onset of the rainy season normally begins by mid-June wherein the southwest monsoon or “Hanging Habagat” will prevail as the dominant weather system.

Though rains are already being dumped over some parts of the country during the past few days, PAGASA clarified that “tag-ulan” has not yet started. These rains are caused by the localized thunderstorms that occur in the latter part of the day. Read more: THUNDERSTORM: Is it normal during “tag-init”?

unnamed

Who can boast of being faster than a speeding bullet? More powerful than a locomotive? And able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Ordinary men just won’t do; the only one who can accomplish all three is Superman.

When shopping for food, we automatically head to the grocery. But throw household appliances, kitchenware and pet food into your shopping list, then you need more than a grocery; you need to go to a supermarket.

From super pizzas to superstars, the word super is a powerful word that effectively ups the ante of everyday things. Finding its origin in Latin, super means above and beyond, or to an especially high degree. It is similar to its Greek counterpart, hypér, which is also often used.

Enter, Super Typhoons

This merry month of May, PAGASA officially declared an addition to their usual roster of tropical cyclone classifications according to wind speeds. Aside from the Tropical Depression (up to 61 kilometers/hour), Tropical Storm (62-117 kilometers/hour), and Typhoon (118-220 kilometers/hour), the category Super Typhoon is also up and running for cyclones packing wind speeds of more than 220 kilometers/hour.

This new category was adopted for several reasons: to impress on the public the severity of the typhoon and its massive impact, especially in light of what Filipinos experienced with Yolanda in 2013; and to match our classifications with those of other weather monitoring agencies across the globe.

Consequently, Signal number 5 was also added to PAGASA’s list of Public Storm Warming Signals to alert the public of an incoming Super Typhoon within 12 hours. Since Super Typhoons can cause widespread damage, including storm surges 4 meters or higher, PAGASA hopes to instill a sense of urgency among the public with this new warning signal.

The Power of Super
Practical knowledge dictates that the power of super must never be underestimated. Whatever word follows this prefix, it is sure to be of greater size, extent, and quality.

So, when you hear of an incoming Super Typhoon, brace yourself for its impact that surpasses normal expectations. During these times, it’s best to be super prepared.

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The Ridge of High Pressure Area remains to be the dominant weather system, bringing higher temperatures in the Philippines today.

It will continue to bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies or fair weather over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. However, localized thunderstorms are still expected to form in the afternoon or evening.

You can expect the same weather scenario this weekend, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Today, Metro Manila’s heat index may reach up to 40.2 degrees Centigrade, the agency added. Everyone is advised to take precautions.

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WHEN WILL TAG-INIT END?

State Meteorologist Buddy Javier states that the Hot and Dry season may last until mid-June. By then, the winds will start to shift and usher in more rains.

But in order to fully establish the end of Tag-init, PAGASA has certain criteria in determining the onset of rainy season in the country, particularly in areas under the Type 1 climate, which produces two pronounced seasons:
1. Dry – October to March
2. Wet – April to September

In order for the agency to officially declare the onset of the rainy season, the following conditions must be present:

1. A total rainfall amount of 25 millimeters or more in a five-day period or at least 1 millimeter of rainfall per day in three consecutive days.

2. Criterion #1 must be met in at least five of the following climate Type 1 stations:
* Laoag
* Vigan
* Dagupan
* Iba
* San Jose, Mindoro
* Metro Manila
* Ambulong
* Iloilo

In order for Metro Manila to be counted, at least 2 out of 3 Metro Manila stations (Science Garden, Port Area, Sangley Point) must have met the first condition.

In meteorology, the life cycle of a tropical cyclone starts with cloud clusters that develop into a low pressure area (LPA). Once this LPA intensifies, it becomes a tropical cyclone, the general term for “bagyo.” This tropical cyclone is then classified based on its wind speeds.

Through the years, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has used three official tropical cyclone categories: Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm and Typhoon.

Yolanda, with the international name Haiyan, which made its landfall in the country last November 2013, is remembered as one of the strongest typhoons in recent years. Largely affected was the Visayas area, where storm surges caused massive destruction to lives and properties.

Days before the first anniversary of Yolanda, the Typhoon Committee of PAGASA decided to revise the classification of tropical cyclones, adding the category “Super Typhoon” on its list. However, this memo said that the revision will be applied in 2015.

In May 2015, by virtue of Memorandum Circular No.3, PAGASA officially declared that Super Typhoon is now part of the tropical cyclone classification.

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The new tropical cyclone classifications are as follows:

Tropical Depression (TD) has maximum sustained winds of up to 61 kilometers per hour, equivalent to 33 nautical miles per hour or more.

Tropical Storm (TS) packs 62 to 117 kilometers per hour. Meanwhile, a Severe Tropical Storm will only be applicable for the International Warning for Shipping, and will not be used for general public dissemination unlike the other categories.

Typhoon (TY) is used in identifying a tropical cyclone with wind speeds 118 to 220 kilometers per hour or 64 to 120 knots.

Super Typhoon (STY) has maximum sustained winds of more than 220 kilometers per hour. STY is as powerful as 120 nautical miles per hour or more.

Since there are changes in cyclone categories, the public storm warning signals (PSWS) were revised as well. According to PAGASA, the country has experienced a number of destructive tropical cyclones in the past ten years. These cyclones were mostly in Typhoon category with maximum sustained winds of more than 220 kilometers per hour. During the passage of Yolanda, the usual four-level warning system of the PSWS was found inadequate.

In line with this, Signal Number 5 now becomes part of PAGASA’s warning.

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Once PSWS #5 is hoisted, residents must prepare for winds of more than 220 kilometers per hour in at least 12 hours. This can cause very heavy to widespread damage to the affected areas.

PAGASA explained that the revision aims to emphasize the intensity of a tropical cyclone and the threat of its impacts. Using the term “Super Typhoon” and “Signal Number 5” will also escalate the sense of urgency and community response in times of an approaching storm.

The Ridge of High Pressure Area continues to affect Luzon. This weather system is associated with fair weather conditions and high temperatures.

Today, the Philippines will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Temperatures may reach up to 35 degrees Celsius with the heat index forecast showing 40.2 degrees Celsius in Metro Manila.

To counter the heat while looking your best, wearing light-weight and light colored clothing is recommended. Sunglasses don’t only look trendy; they also protect your eyes from the glare. Umbrellas with bright colors help shade you from the sun’s rays while giving off happy summer vibes.

In other news, PAGASA releases the revised classification of tropical cyclones effective May 01, 2015.

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Accordingly, the public storm warning signal system of the agency was also modified.