PAGASA sends mobile radar to Tacloban for papal visit

State weather agency PAGASA is sending a mobile radar system to Tacloban City to better gauge the weather conditions during Pope Francis' visit there on Saturday.

 

On Monday, PAGASA had indicated there could be rain in Leyte on Saturday due to a low-pressure area (LPA) that it said has a chance of becoming a cyclone.

 

Photos tweeted Tuesday by radio dzBB's Allan Gatus showed the mobile radar equipment being transported on a flatbed trailer.

.@dost_pagasa, magpapadala ng mobile radar sa Tacloban City kasunod ng pagbisita ni Pope Francis. | via @allangatus pic.twitter.com/Oh1pmAMgBq

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) January 12, 2015
 

 

The Pope is to lead a Mass at Tacloban City then have lunch with survivors of recent calamities in Palo, Leyte on Saturday, Jan. 17.

 

On Tuesday, PAGASA said the LPA approaching the Philippines is likely to become a tropical cyclone by the time it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility Thursday.

 

PAGASA forecaster Buddy Javier said the LPA is 1,990 km east of Mindanao and was already "near the PAR line" as of 4 a.m. Tuesday.

 

"Inaasahan natin papasok ito sa PAR sa Huwebes, posibleng magpaulan sa Eastern Visayas at Bicol. Pagpasok (ng PAR) ng Huwebes ito mag-intensify as tropical depression," Javier said in an interview on dzBB radio.

 

Should the LPA become a cyclone, it will be codenamed Amang.

 

Javier said their possible scenarios include the LPA nearing Leyte and bringing rain to the area this weekend, and the LPA recurving and going up to Luzon.

 

But he said their models at this time show there is little to no chance of landfall.

 

Javier said that if the LPA goes up to Luzon, it will likely weaken upon encountering the cold air from the Northeast Monsoon.

 

Still, he said it will likely bring rain to Visayas and Bicol, and its "moderate to occasionally heavy" rain may reach Metro Manila. —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News