Philippine climate and weather
Monday, 5 September 2011
Philippine weather and climate
There are four types of tropical and maritime climates found in the Philippines the first type is the two pronounce season which means, dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year the maximum rain period is from June to September. The second type is the no dry season with a pronounced rainfall from November to January. The third type is seasons are not very
pronounced, relatively dry from November to April, and we during the rest of the year. The last type is when Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. Using the temperature and rainfall as bases, the climate of the country can be divided into two major seasons: the first is the rainy season, from June to November; and the dry season from December to May. The dry season may be subdivided further into a. the cool dry season from December to February and b. the hot dry season from March to May.
Weather patterns in the Philippines are dictated by the prevailing winds – the habagat(southwest monsoon), which runs from May to October, and the amihan (northeast monsoon), which prevails from November to early May.
For most of the country, the dry season is during the amihan. The wet season starts in June, peaks in July to September, and peters out in October. But patterns have been screwy of late, with the rains arriving later and lingering into December.
In some regions the seasons are flipped. Much of the eastern seaboard – including Eastern Mindanao, Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar and Southeast Luzon – is rainy from December to March and fairly dry when the rest of the country is sopping.
The central Visayas – including Bohol, Negros and Cebu – are sheltered from the monsoon rains and thus have less pronounced seasons. These areas are liable to have rain at any time of the year, but it’s usually not too serious unless there’s a typhoon stirring up trouble on the eastern seaboard.
Typhoons, known as bagyo, are common from June to November. Striking mainly in Luzon and the Visayas, they do millions of dollars worth of damage annually. Typhoons also tend to enhance the habagat, resulting in several days of heavy rains across vast swaths of the country. Even
typhoons that pass several hundred kilometres offshore can have this unfortunate, potentially vacation-ruining effect.
The hottest month in lowland regions is May, when temperatures hover as high as 38°C. The coolest, least humid months are January and February, which can be downright pleasant.
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