Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Pagasa: Cloudburst rumor not true By Cong B. Corrales
A WEATHER specialist debunked reports of "buhawi" (cloudburst) circulating in some local radio stations late evening Tuesday.
Luz Mercado, weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said Tuesday's weather disturbance was still caused by the tail-end of a cold front, which was sighted directly under Northern Mindanao.
"Walay bagyo o buhawi. Kining mga pag-ulan, epekto gihapon ni sa tail-end of a cold front nga nakit-an nato adtong January 11 pa (There is no typhoon or cloudburst. This weather disturbance is still caused by the tail-end of a cold front that we sighted since January 11)," Mercado said in a phone interview with Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
"Our staff in our field office in Baungon, Bukidnon observed a band of clouds hovering low over Talakag, Bukidnon around 3:30 p.m., but it's far from developing into a storm system," he added.
Pagasa's Water Vapor Satellite Imagery monitored a cloud formation over much of Northern Mindanao, thus the continuous rains, the Pagasa weather specialist said.
According to Pagasa's rainfall monitor in Barangay Lumbia, Cagayan de Oro City, a 12.0 mm (3-hour rainfall) was recorded from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.
"The weather situation will possibly improve by the end of this week," Mercado said.
Earlier, Mario Guya, weather specialist of Pagasa, said that based on calculations, there are no storm systems emerging in the next days. He said the tail-end of a cold front is the reason for the heavy rainfall that will affect east, south and northeastern parts of the island.
The largest rainfall recorded by Pagasa in Cagayan de Oro City was September of last year, which recorded 279.1 mm.
Pagasa's Water Vapor Satellite Imagery also showed saturation of water vapor in the northeastern part of Mindanao, and while this can easily develop into a weather disturbances, Guya said the tail-end of a cold front the city has been witnessing would be far from developing into a thunder cloud system or worse, a tropical cyclone.
He said the waves that lashed out the coastal barangays of Cagayan de Oro can be attributed to the moon's distance to the earth.
Tuesday's tide was recorded at 1.8 meters, only 0.1 lesser than in January 11 flood which recorded a high tide of 1.9 meters.
