TWO low pressure areas (LPAs) are being monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) east of Mindanao on Tuesday morning, Nov. 16.
One of the LPAs is inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) and was last spotted at 335 kilometers (km) east-southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur at around 3 a.m.
This weather disturbance has a slim chance of developing into a tropical depression but may bring light to, at times, heavy rains over Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao, said weather specialist Benison Estareja.
Estareja said the other LPA is still outside the PAR. Its location was estimated at 1,500 km east of Mindanao as of 3 a.m.
He said that this weather disturbance, which is expected to enter the PAR by Wednesday, Nov. 17, is less likely to intensify into a tropical depression within 24 hours.
However, as it approaches the country, its chances of becoming a tropical depression may also gradually increase, Estareja pointed out.
He said both LPAs are embedded along the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).
Estareja added that another LPA may form over the Sulu in the next couple of hours.
In the next 24 hours, cloudy skies with rains may prevail over Aurora, Quezon, Cagayan Valley, and Bicol Region due to the shear line or tail-end of cold front and the northeast monsoon or “amihan.”
