Severe Tropical Storm Gardo exits PAR; southwest monsoon affects Luzon, Visayas

MANILA, Philippines – Severe Tropical Storm Gardo (Higos) left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) at 9:30 am on Friday, June 26, less than 24 hours after its entry.

Gardo entered PAR at 3 pm on Thursday, June 25. But it only stayed near the PAR northeastern boundary and did not affect the country.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) earlier said that Gardo was moving north northeast toward southern Japan, with maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 115 km/h.

Gardo was the Philippines’ seventh tropical cyclone for 2026, and the third for June. So far, no new low pressure areas or potential tropical cyclones are being monitored inside or outside PAR.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon or habagat continues to affect Luzon and the Visayas on Friday, with flash floods and landslides possible.

Pangasinan, Zambales, and Bataan face moderate to heavy rain (50-100 millimeters), while the rest of the Ilocos Region, Metro Manila, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Antique, Iloilo, and Guimaras are seeing scattered rain and thunderstorms.

The rest of Luzon and the rest of the Visayas have isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, still due to the southwest monsoon.

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is also bringing scattered rain and thunderstorms to Caraga, the Davao Region, and Southern Leyte, while the rest of Mindanao — not affected by any weather system — may just experience isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

The ITCZ is a belt near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere meet, usually causing LPAs or thunderstorms.

PAGASA had announced the start of the rainy season last June 4. – Rappler.com