TD CARINA Causes SIGNAL NUMBER 1 Raised in 3 PROVINCES

In a way, the COVID-19 pandemic has somewhat gotten people throughout the country to pay little mind to the weather. When the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced the start of the rainy season on Independence Day last month, it did not seem like much considering that Typhoon Ambo already went through Eastern Visayas and Luzon in May. Only one other weather disturbance came around last month, Storm Butchoy which was weaker than a typhoon. Now, the third weather foul-up of the year for the Philippines, named Carina, has arrived; and it being a mere tropical depression means it is even weaker.

As Inquirer.net tells it, Tropical Depression Carina has its movement across the northern part of the Philippines forecast by national weather bureau PAGASA in their 8 AM report for Monday, July 13. Carina began as a cluster of clouds in the Philippine Sea, which then began moving at a northwesterly direction towards the archipelago. From the look of things the main body of the tropical depression will pass the Luzon strait, in close proximity to the Babuyan Islands and northeastern Cagayan province, all throughout the evening of Monday to early morning of Tuesday, July 14.

To wit, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number 1 has thus been raised, not just in the Cagayan municipalities of Santa Ana, Gonzaga, Santa Teresita, Buguey, eastern Lal-lo, eastern Gattaran, and eastern Baggao, as well as the Babuyan Islands, but also on the perennially typhoon-blasted island province of Batanes. Under Typhoon Signal No. 1, the affected locations can expect intermittent rainfall and winds of 30 kilometers per hour at minimum, and 60 km/h at most, all within a 36-hour period. While the track of the depression is mostly over water, PAGASA notes that there is still a chance for landfall.

While not yet covered by a typhoon signal, the remaining portion of Cagayan and its neighboring province of Isabela can still expect rains of moderate to heavy intensity. The rest of Region II, parts of Region I and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will experience light to moderate rainfall, and some random heavy rain. While tropical depression Carina is around, there will be plenty of clouds covering the sky for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao. As expected of the weak weather disturbance that it is, the weather bureau predicts that Carina will become a low-pressure area Wednesday, July 15. Carina has maximum sustained winds of just around 55 km/h.

Image courtesy of Manila Bulletin