by  — ELR, GMA News



State weather forecasters started tracking Saturday afternoon a potential cyclone - a low-pressure area - east of Mindanao.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the LPA was estimated at 320 km east of Mindanao as of 2 p.m.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said the LPA is embedded along the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao.

Also, it noted the trough of an LPA is affecting Northern Luzon.

"Northern Luzon, Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rains over Eastern Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao which may trigger flash floods and landslides," PAGASA said.

The rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, it added.

However, PAGASA did not comment on the chance of the LPA intensifying into a cyclone while inside Philippine territory.

PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds blowing from the east to southeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to occasionally rough.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southwest to southeast with slight to moderate seas