PAGASA: Short, intense rains expected in coming days

PAGASA on Tuesday said short-lived and intense rains may be expected in parts of the country in the coming days. 

DOST-PAGASA Senior Weather Specialist and Hydrologist Rosalie Pagulayan explained that this is due to the country’s tropical location, where several weather systems constantly pass through.

Pagulayan noted that these kinds of thunderstorms often occur in summer months of the Northern Hemisphere due to the speed at which clouds are created because of the rising air.

Atmospheric instability, or the constant change of atmospheric temperatures from hot to cold, may also fuel intense thunderstorms.

She added that such occurrences may continue in the coming years. 

“We can expect yung mga ganito po, yung mga ganito pong iba-ibang severity ng thunderstorm. Pwede po natin ma-expect yan sa mga susunod na araw, sa mga susunod na mga taon,” she shared.

(We can expect similar events, like this one, with different severities of thunderstorms. We can expect this over the coming days and the coming years.)

'Microscale'

Over the weekend, heavy rainfall in Quezon City due to localized thunderstorms brought 96.6 mm of rainfall to the area within an hour.

This was more than the rain recorded in other areas, such as Metro Manila, which only saw about 0.5 mm of rain over 24 hours.

“Ito po ay localized. So, microscale po ito… Maliliit lamang po ito na pwede mangyari, gaya po nung nangyari noong Sabado… Pwedeng mangyari QC, hindi mangyayari sa Makati or Manila,” Pagulayan shared.

(This is localized. This is microscale… These are possible small events, like the one last Saturday… This can happen in QC, but not in Makati or Manila.)

Pagulayan called on the public and concerned institutions to apply anticipatory actions for similar short-lived, intense thunderstorms.

“Ang disaster management siguro, ito po ay [para] lahat… (Disaster management, I think this is [for] everybody.) We all have to do our share,” she said.

She also advised the public to be aware of weather bulletins issued by PAGASA to know the latest updates on weather, flooding, and the climate. —VAL, GMA Integrated News