Habagat brings rain, thunderstorms to western Luzon, starts rainy season

The Southwest Monsoon, known as Habagat, will affect western sections of Luzon on Thursday, bringing cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms.

PAGASA forecasts that the Ilocos Region, Bataan, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Batanes, and Babuyan Islands may experience flash floods or landslides due to moderate to heavy rainfall from Habagat.

Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon will have hot and humid weather with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms, while Visayas and Mindanao are expected to see isolated rain showers and thunderstorms throughout the day.

PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season on Wednesday after observing significant rainfall in western Luzon and Visayas over the past few days due to scattered showers, frequent thunderstorms, Typhoon Aghon, and Habagat.

Despite the onset of the rainy season, PAGASA still forecasts a number of areas experiencing danger-level heat indices, with peak temperatures reaching up to 47 degrees in some regions.