While the months ending in “ber” have begun, Filipinos will not yet experience cooler nights and early mornings, state forecasters said yesterday.
 Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecaster Fernando Cada said over radio station dzBB that Filipinos can expect the cool air to come in by the second or third week of October.
The cool air is usually associated with Christmas in the Philippines.
 Cada said the country is now in a transition period of sorts where the habagat (southwest monsoon) gives way to the amihan (northeast monsoon).
“On the second or third week of October Northern Luzon will feel the cool air from South Japan,” he said. Cada added the cold winds from Siberia, where winter would be starting, will be felt in other parts of the country.
Most Filipinos have started countdowns to Christmas from Saturday.
But Cada also said warned with the looming northeast monsoon, Filipinos may have to brace for more dangerous cyclones. He said the cyclones from September onwards are more likely to make landfall and punch through Philippine land masses.
Meanwhile, Pagasa warned of flash floods in at least three areas in Southern Luzon and Western Visayas, even as a low-pressure area moved closer to Eastern Visayas before noon yesterday.
Pagasa said the LPA was estimated at 510 kilometers northeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar as of 10 a.m.
Guiuan is still recovering from the effects of a magnitude-7.6 quake Friday night. The quake was felt at Intensity 7 in Guiuan.
Pagasa said the LPA and the southwest monsoon are expected to bring light to moderate rain of 1.0 to 5.0 millimeters (mm) per hour, and thunderstorms in Luzon and Visayas.
The rain may be moderate to heavy (five to 10 mm per hour) over Panay and the provinces of Mindoro and Negros, which may trigger flash floods and landslides.