Three days after the start of the southwest monsoon season, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) declared on Monday the start of the rainy season in parts of Luzon and Visayas.

In a press release, the scattered to widespread rainfall in the past five days has led Pagasa to declare the onset of the rainy season in the western part of Luzon and Visayas.

There may still be monsoon breaks "that extend over a few days or weeks," it added.

The southwest monsoon will bring monsoon rains to Zambales and Bataan, cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms to Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the rest of Central Luzon, and Batanes, and partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms to the rest of Luzon based on the 24-hour Pagasa weather forecast on Monday.

Localized thunderstorms may bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms in Visayas and Mindanao. Kate Christian Ravelo/DMS