LPA will cause rainy weekend in some regions; Tropical Storm Malakas Heading to PAR

Tropical Storm Malakas could enter the Philippines area of ​​responsibility on Monday, April 11. Landfall seems unlikely.

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MANILA, Philippines – Scattered rain and thunderstorms will persist in parts of the Philippines through Saturday, April 9, due to the low pressure area (LPA) embedded along the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

The LPA was last seen 185 kilometers east-northeast of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, on Friday afternoon, April 8, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

PAGASA Meteorology Specialist Raymond Ordinario noted that the clouds over the Mindanao area were already thinning slightly, but remain thick over the Visayas.

Still, all of the following areas affected by the LPA and ITCZ ​​should remain on alert for moderate to heavy rain, which could lead to more flooding and landslides:

• Visayas
• caraga
• Northern Mindanao
• Zamboanga Peninsula
• Mimaropa
• Bicol
• Quezon

The weather bureau is not ruling out the possibility of the LPA becoming the Philippines’ first tropical cyclone by 2022. If it does, it would be given the local name of Agaton.

Meanwhile, the tropical cyclone outside the Philippines Area of ​​Responsibility (PAR), a tropical storm with the international name Malakas, was located 2,215 kilometers east of Mindanao on Friday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Malakas is moving northwest at just 10 kilometers per hour (km/h). It could enter the PAR on Monday, April 11, or Tuesday, April 12, Ordinario said.

So far, Malakas has maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h and gusts of up to 90 km/h. It may get even stronger in the next few days before entering PAR.

PAGASA has previously said that Malakas seems unlikely to make landfall.