Tropical storm Domeng (Maliksi) maintained its strength yesterday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center as it continued to enhance the southwest monsoon, bringing rains to the northern part of the country.

Weathermen from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecasted Domeng to be 560 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan, moving north northeast at 19 kilometers per hour (km/h).

Pagasa said in its weather bulletin at press time that “the combined effects of ‘Domeng’ (Maliksi) and rest of western sections of both Luzon and Visayas this weekend.

Residents of these areas are advised to take appropriate actions against possible flash floods and landslides and coordinate with their local DRRM offices. Sea travel is risky over the eastern seaboard of Central and Southern Luzon and of Visayas, and the western seaboard of Southern Luzon.

The rainy season has yet to start and the rains in several parts of the country are due to the tropical depression or the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Charlie Depra, Weather Observer at the Iloilo synoptic station of PAGASA, said that in the next few days the weather agency may possibly declare the start of the rainy season since their target dates run from June 4 to June 14 this year.

He added that they are now analyzing the criteria that have been established to officially announce the start of the rainy season.

Based on the criteria, there has to be 25 millimeters or more rainfall within five consecutive days and it should be recorded in eight different stations to satisfy the general onset of rains.

These are stations based in Laoag, Vigan, Dagupan, Iba, San Jose (Mindoro), Metro Manila, Ambulong and Iloilo.

Nonetheless, he said that as part of their preparations, they have been disseminating information to the public about weather and rainfall updates or weather advisory.

“Maging alerto lang sa posibleng flash floods and landslides lalo na sa mga nakatira sa low-lying areas dahil prone sila (Just be alert for possible flash floods and landslides, most especially for those living in low-lying areas),” said Depra.

He added that this month two storms may possibly enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility and approximately four storms in July.

Meantime, he said the occurrence of a hailstorm in Sta. Barbara and Badiangan towns on Tuesday was due to intense thunderstorm. Due to the intense evaporation the thunderstorm turns into hailstorm, he said.

“Not every time that there is thunderstorm there would be hailstorm,” Charlie Depra said.

If the freezing point of the clouds is at 10 kilometers below the ground, there would be formation of ice crystals that will form into a hailstorm.

Hailstorm would not last due to fast evaporation. It will run from 30 minutes to one hour.

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