storm/philipines

[kim r]

what about the boaters in the Philipines ??????

[Bruce626]

Most yachties are in 'typhoon safe' harbors - my catamaran is in Tambobo Bay and everything there seems OK. Others are in Carmen, Cebu; Puerto Galera, Mindoro; Subic Bay, Luzon. During this season no one would be near Leyte - it is a typhoon magnet as almost all Pacific typhoons that can, head to Leyte and then usually go on to Manila. I am currently in Cebu and haven't heard of any problems - but the season is not done; the PI gets around 20 big storms each season.

[delmarrey]

This Haiyan Yolanda storm waited until the last minute. Typhoon season is supposed to be over in Nov. Same thing happened last year but it was mostly rain. So flooding did most of the damage.

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.
With a flexible itinerary you can use the website of PAGASA (PAGASA - DOST - DOST SERVICE INSTITUTES) to avoid meteorological trouble spots.


Read more: Weather in Philippines - Lonely Planet Travel Information