Weather Today – May 27, 2015 | Thunderstorms still possible

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:

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.