Easterlies or winds coming from the Pacific Ocean prevails over the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) still affecting the eastern section of Luzon and Visayas. For today’s forecast, generally fair weather is expected in most parts of the country. The whole archipelago will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Since easterlies are warm and humid in nature, hot weather will continue in the Philippines. Metro Manila will experience 23 to 33 degrees Celsius while Metro Cebu’s temperature could reach 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Metro Davao will feel the warmest weather this Friday with temperatures ranging from 25 to 34 degrees Celsius.

PAGASA Weather Forecaster Fernando Cada explained that different factors affect the heat felt in a certain area. These include the topography, location and the prevailing weather system or wind direction. For instance, Tuguegarao City normally experiences warmer days compared to other parts of Luzon because it is part of Cagayan Valley. With this kind of topography, heat is usually trapped by the surrounding mountains.

In another example, General Santos in Mindanao usually tops the list with the highest temperatures during the past few days. Cada said it is influenced by its location or latitude. General Santos is the southernmost part of the Philippines, thus, closer to the equator, which is always warmer than the North and South Poles.

Meanwhile, Cada stated that weak El Nino is still in progress and is expected to bring below the normal rainfall and higher temperatures in the country. El Nino is a climatic condition wherein unusual warming of the ocean or an increase in the sea surface temperature (SST) is observed.

For more information and trivia, watch the interview of Panahon TV with PAGASA Weather Forecaster Fernando Cada: