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Rains are more likely to prevail due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which will continue to affect Southern Luzon and Visayas. Cloudy skies with light to moderate rains are expected in Visayas and the regions of CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and Bicol.

Residents in said areas are alerted against occasional heavy rains, gusty winds and lightning when thunderstorms occur. Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains and possible thunderstorms.

In an interview with Panahon TV, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Chris Perez said the downpour in Metro Manila and nearby provinces yesterday was brought by isolated thunderstorms and not by a weather disturbance. Thunderstorms usually occur in the afternoon or evening, where the accumulated heat triggers the formation of cumulonimbus or thunderstorm clouds.

Meanwhile, a Low Pressure Area (LPA) was spotted outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Based on the latest data, it was located at 1,475 kilometers east of Northern Luzon. Perez noted that it may enter the PAR within the day and is also expected to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next 24 to 48 hours.

If it develops into a tropical cyclone inside the Philippine premises, it will be named as “Isang”, the 9th “bagyo” this year. The initial assessment of PAGASA shows that this weather disturbance may directly affect Extreme Northern Luzon, where it is expected to bring heavy rains and gusty winds.

Perez added that it could intensify or enhance the Southwest Monsoon or Hanging Habagat, bringing chances of rains in portions of Luzon and Visayas. As of now, the LPA has no effect yet to any part of the country, but the public is advised to monitor updates.

Storm-free weekend ahead

This Friday, rains are concentrated in Southern Luzon and Visayas as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) remains dominant.

The ITCZ is an area where winds coming from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet; this interaction results in rains in the affected areas. ITCZ is also composed of a series of Low Pressure Areas (LPA) which can develop into weather disturbances.

As this weather system prevails, Visayas, Bicol Region, MIMAROPA, and the provinces of Quezon and Batangas will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and possible occasionally heavy rains with gusty winds and lightning due to thunderstorms. In the rest of the country including Metro Manila, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will prevail except for isolated light to occasionally heavy rains, gusty winds and lightning.

Extended Vacation
The long weekend is almost here. Under the Republic No. 9256, August 21 is declared as Ninoy Aquino Day in to commemorate the death anniversary of Former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr.

According to an interview with PAGASA Weather Forecaster Gener Quitlong, no weather disturbance is expected to affect the country until the next three days. But by early next week, an Low Pressure Area may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility, possibly enhancing the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat.

In an interview with Panahon TV, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Robert Badrina said no weather disturbance is expected to develop within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in the next three days. However, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) continues to affect Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The ITCZ is the boundary of winds coming from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Converging winds form convective clouds, dumping rains in the affected areas.

This weather system will bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains in Visayas, MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula and the province of Dinagat. Residents of these areas are also alerted against possible heavy rains, gusty winds and lightning when thunderstorms occur.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains with chances of thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening. Thunderstorms usually persist for about 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, no gale warning was issued as coastal waters throughout the archipelago remain slight to moderate.

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is back, affecting the western section of Southern Luzon and of Visayas, and Mindanao.

Palawan, Western Visayas and Mindanao will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and possible occasionally heavy rains, gusty winds and lightning due to thunderstorm.

In the rest of the country, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will prevail except for isolated light to occasionally heavy rains, gusty winds and lightning.

Fair Weather Sunday

A generally fair weather will prevail in the country today. Partly cloudy to cloudy skies will be experienced in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao only with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. This weather condition is caused by the Ridge of High Pressure Area (HPA) extending across Luzon and Visayas.

“Ridge” refers to the extended part of a High Pressure Area or an anticyclone. Unlike a Low Pressure Area, this indicates an area where the atmospheric pressure is higher than its surroundings. Formation of clouds is usually suppressed, thus, less chance of rains.

Meanwhile, in an interview with PAGASA Weather Forecaster Samuel Duran, no weather disturbance is expected to affect the Philippine within the next three days but the public is still advised to continue monitoring updates.

The Southwest Monsoon or Hanging Habagat continues to affect the country but compared to the previous weeks, its effect is much weaker. Its presence will be felt in the Extreme Northern Luzon. Meanwhile, the Ridge of High Pressure (HPA) is affecting the rest of Luzon and Visayas. This mid-week, partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers will be experienced in the entire archipelago. Occasional heavy rains and gusty winds may also occur during thunderstorms.

Gale warning remains lifted but fisherfolk are still alerted against moderate to occasional rough seas in Extreme Northern Luzon while slight to moderate seas will prevail in the remaining coastal areas in the country.

In an interview with Panahon TV, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza said no weather disturbance is expected to exist or develop within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) within the next 3 days. However, the public is still advised to monitor updates and further development.

Mendoza added that Habagat may prevail this month and may last until September. Several weather systems are also expected to affect the country this month. These include the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Low Pressure Area (LPA) and Tropical Cyclone, which will bring rains and thunderstorms.

Rains affect western section of Luzon

The Southwest Monsoon, warm and moist air coming from the Indian Ocean has slightly weakened in the absence of a weather disturbance surrounding the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

But today, it still affects the western section of Northern and Central Luzon, bringing cloudy skies with light to moderate rains in Ilocos Region, Zambales and Bataan.

In the rest of Luzon including Metro Manila, down to Visayas and Mindanao, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will prevail with possible isolated rain shower and thunderstorms.

The country will remain storm-free in the next two to three days.

Question of the Day
Panahon TV follower Gerby Flores asked: “Ilang bagyo ang papasok kapag August?” (How many tropical cyclones will enter or develop this August?)

According to PAGASA Weather Forecaster Gener Quitlong, two to four tropical cyclones may enter or develop in PAR this month based on climatological records.

These tropical cyclones’ track may be a hit or miss. If these weather disturbances hit the landmass, it may make landfall in Northern Luzon.

 

In an interview with Panahon TV, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza said that Typhoon “Noru” is no longer expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Based on the tropical cyclone information issued this morning, the eye of the typhoon was last spotted at 1,565 kilometers east-northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon packing winds of 160 kph and gustiness of up to 195 kph. It is expected to move north-northwest at 13 kph.

As it moves farther away from the PAR, it continues to enhance the Southwest Monsoon or Hanging Habagat, which will affect the entire archipelago. Metro Manila, Visayas and the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera, Central Luzon, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon), MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Bicol, Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Zamboanga Peninsula will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rains.

Occasional heavy rains and gusty winds are also possible in the above-mentioned areas due to thunderstorms. The remaining parts of the country can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

No gale warning was issued today but coastal waters along the Northern and Western section of Luzon will be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, slight to moderate seas will prevail due to the light to moderate winds.

There are a lot of theories on how the Moon came to being. But one of the most accepted theories is that it was formed from debris that resulted from a collision between Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia. This collision caused a big chunk of mass to eject from Earth which later on cooled down and then became the Moon.

Our Moon, which is the fifth largest Moon in the Solar System, was given names by several cultures and tribes, one of which is “Bulan” given by the Malays, which is close to how Filipinos call the moon as “Buwan”. Because the Greeks named it “Selene” a titan and their moon goddess, the study of the Moon’s geology is called Selenology.

You might wonder why the Moon looks different every night. This is because as the Earth revolves around the Sun, the light reflected to the Moon varies everyday. This phenomenon creates the phases of the Moon.

Moon’s Phases

Because our Moon is massive, its gravitational pull affects bodies of water during certain phases. This affects the tides, but most importantly the lives of people living near the bodies of water.

Tides and Their Effects on Fishing

Due to the combined gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, tides occur. Still the Moon is the major force behind tides because it is nearer to the Earth. Tides are periodic short-term changes in the height of the water surface in a particular place.

During the falling fide is the best time of day to catch fish. This occurs when the tide changes from high tide to low tide. The faster the water is moving out, the better the fishing. This is because the fish take advantage of this time to feed on the smaller fish being pushed out to the sea. Meanwhile, high tide is not ideal for fishing because of the rise in sea level.

Tides affect, not only fishing, but also sea travel. Just before a low tide occurs, sea vessels are moved to shallow spots to avoid them from getting hauled into the coastlines. Many marine animals and plants also benefit from the tides. The daily ebb sweeps nutrients from the shallows, moving the juvenile fish from seashore nurseries to the deep ocean.

The pulling of the seas toward the Moon not only affects seawater depths along the coasts, but also the Earth’s rotation, slowed down by what is called tidal friction. The movement of the bulge of tidal water across the oceans and its attraction to the Moon acts as a brake on the Earth’s rotation. As a result, the length of a day increases.

Perhaps the most important effect of the Moon is the way it stabilizes our rotation. When the Earth rotates, it wobbles slightly back and forth on its axis. Without the Moon, we’d be wobbling much more.

Psychological Effects of the Moon

From the word Luna, the Roman Goddess of the Moon, the word “lunatic” was formed. Since the phases of the Moon have a great effect on the bodies of water, Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that because the brain is the “moistest” organ in the body, it is more susceptible to the pernicious influence of the moon. Agreeing to this is Miami psychiatrist Arnold Lieber who conjectured that since the human body is about 80% water, the moon works its mischievous magic by disrupting the alignment of water molecules in the nervous system.

This is why strange mass behavior is attributed to the presence of a Full Moon. In Europe during the Middle Ages, “Lunar Lunacy” was also known as the “Transylvania effect”, wherein some believe that certain humans transformed into werewolves or vampires during a Full Moon.

Even today, the Full Moon is associated with strange events, such as increased cases of suicides, homicides, psychiatric hospital admission, emergency room calls, traffic accidents, local fights, and animal bites.

Sleep Deprivations

A small study in 2013 by Chrono-biologist and Sleep Researcher Christian Cajochen at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel in Switzerland was conducted. Out of 33 volunteer adults, all of them slept less during the Full Moon even when they were not aware of the current lunar phase. But a year later, a broad review of sleep-moon research done by scientists at the Max-Plank Institute of Psychiatry in Germany, found no statistically significant correlation between lunar cycle and sleep.

More recently, a research was published on March 2016 by the Frontiers in Pediatrics from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada. More than 5,800 children aged 9 to 11 were analyzed in 12 different countries. The children about 5 minutes less on nights with a Full Moon. This is “unlikely to be important” from a health perspective, the researchers said, but is definitely interesting. Though the brightness of the Full Moon may be the reason for the decreased sleep, researchers doubted this suggestion because of the proliferation of artificial light these days.

Suicides and Homicides

There have been reported cases of an increased crime rate at an event of a Full Moon. A study was conducted in India on 1978 to 1982 by Dr. Siraj Misbahm a neurologist. He randomly selected 3 police stations—one rural, one urban and one industrial in Bihar, Northern India. These three police stations are at least 300 kilometers apart. Gathered data suggested that crimes committed on Full Moon Days were much higher than on all other days.

Psychiatric Hospital Admissions

A study in 2014 led by Varinder Parmar of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada looked at psychiatric emergency-department visits 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours before and after a Full Moon. During the 6 hours before and after a full moon, data showed significantly more patients with personality disorders as well as those who needed more urgent care were admitted to the hospital. However, fewer patients with anxiety disorders showed up during the 12 hours and 24 hours prior to and following the Full Moon.

We cannot argue that the Moon plays an important part in our daily lives. A lot of mysteries have yet to been proven about our satellite but until then, take time to appreciate its beauty and its many phases.

By Panahon TV Reporter Patrick Christoffer Obsuna.

Related articles:

Ten Things You Need to Know about the Moon

Five Things You Should Know When the Moon is Full

Moonstruck: A Closer Look at our Lunar Fascination