WEATHERand 'Egay' out, 'Falcon' in

MANILA -After days of traversing our boundary, Tropical storm Egay” has finally moved out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Based on the final bulletin of PAGASA, the center of the storm was estimated at 320 kilometers west-southwest of Basco, Batanes.Packing winds of 85 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 100 kilometers per hour,Egayis expected to move north at 7 kilometers per hour. PAGASA Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza explains that the ridge of high pressure area (HPA) has influenced Egay’s slow course during the past few days.AsEgaymoves farther away from the country, it will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat”. Moderate to occasionally heavy rains will be dumped over Calayan andamp Babuyan Group of islands, Zambales, Bataan, Benguet and Ilocos Region while Metro Manila, Mindoro, Palawan and Western Visayas will have light to moderate rains and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will experience generally fair weather aside from the chance of isolated thunderstorms.Gale warning is still up over the seaboards of Northern Luzon and the western seaboard of Central Luzon. Rough to very rough sea conditions with wave height ranging from 3.4 to 4.5 meters will be experienced, making it risky for fishing boats and other small seacraft.Meanwhile, typhoon Chan-Hom” still poses threat to the PAR. It was last spotted at 1,620 kilometers east of Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 150 kilometers per hour. Moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour, it is expected to enter the PAR this afternoon or evening.Once it enters the boundary, it will be given a local name Falcon”, the sixth tropical cyclone to enter PAR this year. According to Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza, it is less likely to hit the landmass but will enhance habagat, bringing rains over the country in the coming days.On the other hand, another cyclone with international name Nangka” was estimated at 3, 450 kilometers east of Luzon. Mendoza says it has a slim chance of entering the PAR but all are still advised to monitor updates.