Wind signal over Batanes lifted; Habagat rains persist

Rains will continue to affect the country despite the exit of Typhoon Inday from the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Saturday, the state weather bureau PAGASA said.

PAGASA also lifted the tropical cyclone wind signal over Batanes, but the province and the Babuyan Islands are still expected to have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over the next 24 hours due to the tropical cyclone's trough.

Zambales, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro will experience monsoon rains, with daily rainfall of 100 to 200 millimeters forecast until Monday afternoon.

Metro Manila, the rest of MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, the Negros Island Region, La Union, Pangasinan, Benguet, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, and Laguna will see occasional rains.

The Southwest Monsoon or Habagat will also cause cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over the Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM, SOCCSKSARGEN, the rest of Luzon, and the rest of Visayas, and partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over the rest of Mindanao.

Strong to gale-force winds and rough to very rough seas are expected over Extreme Northern Luzon, where wave heights may reach 2.8 to 4.5 meters.

Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon will experience moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough seas, with waves of 1.5 to 3.5 meters.

Elsewhere in the country, moderate winds and seas will prevail, with wave heights ranging from 1.2 to 2.1 meters.

As of 4 p.m., the center of Typhoon Inday was located 695 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes.

Inday was moving northwestward at 40 km/h, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 170 km/h.

The typhoon is forecast to make landfall over the southeastern coast of Zhejiang, China, between Saturday night and early Sunday morning. — Jamil Santos/VBL, GMA News