Puerto Princesa City recorded its first significant rainfall on Wednesday night, a shower that lasted approximately 15 minutes.
This brief downpour served as a welcome respite for residents who have endured severe heat in recent weeks.
The amount of rain was measured by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) at 3mm.
Despite its short duration, the rainfall was still categorized as heavy.
Sonny Pajarilla, senior weather specialist at the PAGASA Synoptic Upper Air Station, emphasized the importance of the recent rainfall. He explained that it was the first rain since February and resulted in the absorption of heat, serving as a natural cooling mechanism for the environment.
“It was quite significant, especially because that was the first since February 20. On April 30, there was also rainfall, but it was insignificant; it was only measured at 0.2mm of rainfall. Yesterday, we had 2 episodes of rainfall—one in the morning, 9:23 a.m. to 9:36 a.m., so 13 minutes, very insignificant also, but in the evening it was very significant although short-lived,” Pajarilla said.
He explained that the rainfall was due to the nature of the country being an archipelago, which comes with parameters necessary to sustain the circulation and convergence of air.
Pajarilla noted a convergence in the South of Sulu that triggered moisture in the Southern Sulu area, which then traveled to the mainland.
He said there could be possible rainfall in May despite the country still experiencing El Niño conditions.
“We are expecting in this month of May ay 40-60% of rainfall. We are still in a drought situation. We are expecting na pagpasok ng June, ay drought condition tayo ulit, hindi walang ulan, kundi prolonged lang ang ating walang ulan compared sa ating normal na nararanasan. Mababa parin siya, pero mayroong ulan na tayong inaasahan sa Mayo,” he added.
