EP221

Salanio, Zenthea Christine C.

Identify common terms and its definition used in the Meteorology and Climatology in
the Philippines.

1. PAR
PAR means Philippine Area of Responsibility where PAGASA monitors tropical
cyclones that are expected to affect the country. Once a tropical cyclone enters PAR,
it is automatically given a local name so Filipinos can easily remember it.
The Philippine Area of Responsibility is different from the country itself. When we say
a tropical cyclone is entering the PAR, it doesn’t mean that it will hit the Philippine
landmass. It may still change its course or re-curve away from the country.
2. HABAGAT
Filipinos often hear the southwest monsoon or habagat during the rainy season.
Characterized by warm and moist air, it speeds up cloud formation, which dumps
rains mostly over the western section of the country.
Once a habagat is enhanced by a tropical cyclone entering PAR, it can bring heavy
downpour that may cause widespread flooding.
3. AMIHAN
Amihan is the northeast monsoon that occurs from November to April. It is a wind
system characterized by cold and dry air coming from Mainland China.
It is responsible for colder mornings and lower. It also affects sea conditions and
may direct tropical cyclones towards the Philippine landmass with a higher chance of
landfall.
4. GUST/GUSTINESS
“Pagbugso”
Any sudden brief increase of wind speed usually less than 20 seconds followed by a
lull or slackening in wind speed.
5. TAIL-END OF A FRONTAL SYSTEM
“Buntot ng Frontal System”
The boundary between the easterlies and the northeast monsoon or hanging
amihan. The easterlies refer to warm, moist air coming from the Pacific Ocean, while
the northeast monsoon brings cold, dry air.
6. COLD FRONT
A cold front indicates a change in air mass, where warmer air is being replaced by
colder air. They often bring short spells of heavy rainfall in the form of showers and
squally winds, and are accompanied by a decrease in temperature, a veer in wind
direction and a change to brighter showery conditions.
7. EL NIÑO
In the Philippines, El Niño is associated with low rainfall or drought.
When trade winds weaken, the warm surface goes east or away from the
Philippines, decreasing the likelihood of rainfall. This is what is known as a dry spell
or El Niño.
8. LA NIÑA
La Niña indicates above average rainfall.
As trade winds move west over the Pacific Ocean, warm surface water is pushed
towards the western Pacific towards Asia. This breeds the conditions for major
rainfall in the Philippines known as La Niña.
9. LA NADA
Though seldom mentioned, it means normal rainfall.
10. THUNDERSTORM
Thunderstorm formation occurs through water cycle, wherein heat serves as the
main component. As the sun heats up the land or a body of water, warm air rises,
producing clouds by means of condensation. Once the cloud becomes massive,
precipitation follows in the form of rain, drizzle or hail.
11. RAINSHOWERS
Precipitation of short duration but usually of greater intensity from convective clouds.
It is characterized by sudden start and sudden end of precipitation, rapid change in
intensity.
Scattered Rainshowers – The rain-bearing clouds is distributed spatially
resulting to rainshowers occuring to the bigger part of the forecasted area.
Isolated Rainshowers – The rain-bearing clouds is small and isolated resulting
to rainshowers occuring only to a small part of the forecasted area.
12. TROPICAL CYCLONE
Tropical cyclone is the general term for a “bagyo,” which starts out from a cloud
cluster that develops into a low pressure area (LPA), an area that has an
atmospheric pressure lower than its surrounding locations. Further classified into the
following:
Tropical depression – maximum sustained winds of 45 to 61 kph
 Tropical storm – maximum sustained winds of 62 to 117 kilometers per hour
Typhoon – maximum sustained winds of 118 to 220 kilometers per hour
Super typhoon – maximum sustained winds over 220 kilometers per hour
13. STORM SURGE
Storm surge is the abnormal rise in sea level associated with a tropical storm or
typhoon. It is usually measured by deducting the normal high tide from the observed
storm tide.
This event is never related to tsunami, which is a sea level rise brought by a strong
earthquake. A tsunami is triggered by underwater seismic activities while a storm
surge is generated by strong winds from a storm.
14. LANDFALL
Landfall happens when the surface of a tropical cyclone intersects with a coastline.
In this scenario, the landmass or the affected area will experience stormy weather
with moderate to heavy rains and gusty winds.
15. INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE
The convergence of winds coming from the northern and southern hemispheres
results to group of convective clouds known as the ITCZ or Intertropical
Convergence Zone. This weather system affects the country depending on the
orientation of the sun or the season. Once it becomes active, it can be a breeding
ground of weather disturbances or low pressure areas.
ITCZ is one of the weather systems that cause flooding and landslides because it
triggers moderate to heavy precipitation over the affected areas..

16.LOW PRESSURE AREA

A region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding
locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence that occur in
the upper levels of the atmosphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is
known as cyclogenesis.