Aside from being only two months away from the Christmas season, October also heralds a few weather changes that will have you reaching for the blanket early in the morning. Read on and find out what you can expect on the tenth month of the year.

1. Colder mornings ahead
After the Autumnal Equinox last September 23, longer nights will continue this October. This month will also be the transition period for wind systems as the wind pattern changes from southwest to northeast. The northeast monsoon or amihan starts to affect the country usually by mid to late October. It is cold and dry in nature, resulting to a temperature drop and a slight chill mostly in the early morning.

2. Rains over the eastern section
Who could forget the southwest monsoon or habagat, which brought enormous amounts of rain in the past few months? Because of this, the western section of Luzon, including Metro Manila, experienced widespread flooding and gusty winds that caused damage to properties. This October, however, residents of the country’s eastern section, which include Cagayan Valley, Aurora and Quezon Province, is more likely to be affected by rains brought by amihan.

3. Possible landfall of tropical cyclones
According to PAGASA, about two to three tropical cyclones or bagyo may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility during the month of October. Tropical cyclones usually move northwest, which means a higher chance of hitting the landmass, making Northern and Central Luzon areas prone to possible landfall activities. The direction or track of the tropical cyclones depends on the surge of the Northeast Monsoon or amihan.

However, changes may still occur as PAGASA continues to monitor the probability of a “weak El Niño” in the last quarter of 2014.