Weather Disturbances in the Philippines

Easterly Waves

They refer to the disturbances in the east-to-west flow of the trade winds. Normally the
trades have an average speed of about 16-19 kph. Once disturbed, they can reach a speed of 24
kph. Under favorable conditions, they may develop into tropical cyclones.

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

It is the region where the northern hemisphere trades meet the southern hemisphere
trades. It is characterized by towering cumulonimbus clouds causing showers and widespread
thunderstorms

Monsoon

Much of the rainfalls in the Philippines are due to the northwest monsoon and the
southeast monsoon. Monsoons are wind systems resulting from the temperature and pressure
differences between continents and oceans. The word monsoon comes from the Arabic mausam
which means reversal of wind direction.

Cold Fronts

Cold fronts are weather disturbances of the temperature regions. During winter in the
Northern Hemisphere, they usually reach as far as the south of the Philippines. A cold front
generally brings a lot of rain, but as it reaches the Philippines, the amount of rain has decreased,
causing a cloudy weather with occasional rains.

Thunderstorms

These are local weather disturbances which occur frequently in summer. They are
characterized by sudden occurrences of rain accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning and bursts
of thunder.

Tropical Cyclones

Cyclone refers to a big whirling circle of strong wind and rain. A tropical cyclone usually
originates from a low pressure area over the tropical ocean near the equator, where the air is very
hot, wet, and still. As great masses of this warm, wet air rise up, rain clouds form. When the wind
sets this air in motion, the Coriolis force starts the cyclone whirling in a counterclockwise
direction the northern hemisphere and clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere. In the
middle of a cyclone is hole where the air is relatively calm, humid and warm the sky is clear to
partly cloudy. This hole is called the eye.