No typhoons until end of June – Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines – It is likely there would be no typhoons hitting the country until the end of the month, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Monday.

But weather forecaster Robert Sawi said we might have intense storms next month.

He explained to reporters that there should have been two or three typhoons entering the country for June.

Sawi attributed the zero-typhoon count for this month to the effects of the El Niño.

“There will be no tropical cyclones until the end of the month. This is due to the delayed effects of the El Niño,” Sawi said.

He added that despite neutral conditions of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, we can still feel some effects of El Niño.

The El Niño phenomenon refers to the abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures that cause droughts in affected areas like the Philippines.

On the other hand, Sawi said they expect two or three storms to enter the country for July. “Most likely, we will have intense storms and high rainfall, especially towards the fourth quarter or the end of the year when we expect the effects of La Nina to be felt.”

La Nina, the opposite of El Niño, refers to the abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures. This causes extreme rainfall in affected countries like the Philippines.

The country is visited by an average of 20 storms in a year. By this time, Sawi said we should have around three. “As it is, we have had only one storm.”

Sawi also said that an intertropical convergence zone is affecting Mindanao, Visayas and Southern Luzon, bringing clouds and rains. He said they expect the ITCZ to creep up to Central Luzon before the weekend and extend to the Visayas and Mindanao area.

When this happens, the rest of the country can have rainshowers and thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.

With the heat, we don’t mind a few rainy days though. – Editor