Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 20) — The entire Visayas area is expected to experience rains on Christmas Day, due to the effects of an incoming tropical cyclone, a weather official said Saturday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said a tropical depression will enter the country either by Sunday evening or early Monday morning. Once it enters, it will be the 21st tropical cyclone to have visited the country this year, and it will be called “Ursula”. The storm is also expected to develop into a tropical storm upon entry.
“Nakikita natin na babaybayin niya po ito, ang buong bahagi ng Visayas so possibly buong area ng Visayas makakaranas ng mga pag-ulan sa paparating na Pasko,” weather forecaster Ana Claurel told CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Weekend.
[Translation: We see the storm affecting the whole of Visayas so possibly the entire area will experience rains on Christmas.]
The most affected areas would be Caraga Region and eastern Visayas. PAGASA said the storm may make landfall there on Christmas eve — either by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Its trough may also affect Davao del Sur, which was hit by a strong earthquake earlier this week.
The tropical depression was last spotted 1,810 kilometers east of Mindanao carrying 55 kilometers per hour (kph) of maximum center winds and a gustiness of up to 70 kph. It is moving west northwest at 10 kph.
Meanwhile, a low pressure area (LPA) has already begun bringing cloudy skies and scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms to eastern Visayas, Caraga and Davao. However, it has a low chance of developing into a tropical cyclone.
On the other hand, PAGASA earlier said the eastern section of Luzon is experiencing cloudy weather due to the easterlies or warm winds from the Pacific Ocean. PAGASA said it will also bring cloudiness over Cagayan, Isabela and Aurora, but no cloudy weather over Metro Manila.
