For the fourth time in a single passage, a tropical system is making landfall across the Philippine archipelago — a reminder that geography and climate conspire to place these islands at the crossroads of the Pacific's restless energy. Tropical Depression Verbena, having already crossed Agusan del Sur, Bohol, and Cebu, now bears down on Negros Island Region with winds gusting to 90 kilometers per hour, touching the lives of millions across the Visayas and Mindanao. Though modest in intensity by meteorological measure, Verbena's breadth and persistence speak to the cumulative weight that repeat
Tropical Depression Verbena poised for 4th landfall over Negros Island
A fourth crossing means more communities face wind and rain when they may already be saturated.
Mark
So Verbena has already hit three places. Why does a fourth landfall matter—isn't the system weakening by now?
Mimi
It's not about strength so much as persistence. Each time a tropical depression crosses land, it typically loses energy. But Verbena is moving over water between landfalls, which lets it recharge. The fourth crossing means more communities face wind and rain when they may already be saturated.
Luke
Though we should note—55 kph sustained winds is relatively modest. The 90 kph gusts are what people will feel, but the system isn't intensifying dramatically. Pagasa says it will become a tropical storm, but that's still a low-end system.
Mark
What about the shear line affecting Manila? Is that connected to Verbena?
Mimi
No, it's separate. The shear line is a convergence of air masses that's creating its own weather pattern. It's affecting the northern regions while Verbena is primarily a Visayas and Mindanao event.
Luke
Right—so you have two different weather systems operating simultaneously. That's worth clarifying because readers might assume everything is one storm.
Mark
When does this all end?
Mimi
Verbena exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility by early Thursday morning. After that, the immediate threat from the depression itself is over, though the shear line may linger.
Luke
The source says "early Thursday morning," which is a bit vague. We don't have a precise time, so that's worth noting—it's a forecast window, not a fixed moment.
El Pulso
- Verbena has struck three provinces in rapid succession and is now poised to make a fourth landfall over Negros Island Region, an unusually persistent track through the heart of the archipelago.
- Gusts reaching 90 kilometers per hour and a wide arc of Storm Signal No. 1 warnings stretch from Mindanao through the Visayas and into parts of Luzon, placing millions of residents under active threat.
- A separate shear line is simultaneously drenching Metro Manila and surrounding provinces with scattered rainfall and thunderstorms, compounding the national weather burden beyond Verbena's direct path.
- Forecasters are tracking a likely intensification into a tropical storm before the system exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility by early Thursday morning.
- The critical question now is how much additional rainfall and wind damage accumulates across communities in the Visayas and Mindanao that have already absorbed three successive landfalls.
For the fourth time in a single passage, a tropical system is making landfall across the Philippine archipelago — a reminder that geography and climate conspire to place these islands at the crossroads of the Pacific's restless energy. Tropical Depression Verbena, having already crossed Agusan del Sur, Bohol, and Cebu, now bears down on Negros Island Region with winds gusting to 90 kilometers per hour, touching the lives of millions across the Visayas and Mindanao. Though modest in intensity by meteorological measure, Verbena's breadth and persistence speak to the cumulative weight that repeated landfalls place on communities already bracing against wind, rain, and uncertainty. Forecasters expect the system to depart Philippine waters by early Thursday, but not before leaving its full accounting behind.
Tropical Depression Verbena has carved an unusually persistent path through the Philippine archipelago, making landfall successively over Agusan del Sur, Bohol, and Cebu before positioning itself over coastal waters near Pinamungahan. Weather specialist Chenel Dominguez of PAGASA has confirmed that a fourth landfall — this time over Negros Island Region — is imminent, as the system moves northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour.
The depression carries sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour with gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour. Though it sits at the lower end of tropical cyclone intensity, its geographic reach is striking. Storm Signal No. 1 covers a broad corridor of the country — from Occidental and Oriental Mindoro and Romblon in the west, through the entire central Visayas, and deep into Mindanao's northeastern provinces, including Surigao del Norte, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental.
Adding to the nation's weather burden, a shear line — a convergence of warm and cold air masses — is independently bringing cloudy skies, scattered rain, and isolated thunderstorms to Metro Manila, the Cordillera, Central Luzon, and the CALABARZON provinces. The northeast monsoon, or amihan, is meanwhile pushing light showers across the rest of Luzon.
Verbena is expected to intensify into a tropical storm before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility by early Thursday morning. How much additional damage accumulates across already-battered communities in the Visayas and Mindanao will depend on the precise timing of that fourth landfall and the system's eventual departure.
Tropical Depression Verbena has already crossed three provinces—Agusan del Sur, Bohol, and Cebu—and is now positioned over the coastal waters near Pinamungahan in Cebu, moving steadily northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour. According to Chenel Dominguez, a weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, a fourth landfall appears imminent, this time over Negros Island Region.
The system carries maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour near its center, with gusts reaching as high as 90 kilometers per hour. While these figures place Verbena at the lower end of tropical cyclone intensity, the breadth of its impact across the archipelago is substantial. Storm Signal No. 1 remains in effect across a wide swath of the country, covering Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, the northern and central sections of Palawan, and Masbate in the western Philippines.
Across the Visayas—the central island group most directly in Verbena's path—the same warning level applies to Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, both Negros provinces, Siquijor, Cebu, Bohol, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte. In Mindanao, the alert extends to Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, the northern portion of Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, the northeastern section of Agusan del Sur, Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, and the northern portions of Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte.
Meanwhile, a separate weather pattern—a convergence of warm and cold air masses known as a shear line—is affecting the northern and central portions of the country. Metro Manila, the Cordillera region, Central Luzon, and the CALABARZON provinces (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) are experiencing cloudy skies with scattered rainfall and isolated thunderstorms. The remainder of Luzon faces partly cloudy to overcast conditions with light, isolated showers driven by the northeast monsoon, locally called the amihan.
Forecasters expect Verbena to strengthen into a tropical storm in the coming hours. The system is projected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by early Thursday morning, bringing an end to its direct impact on the islands. The timing of this fourth landfall and subsequent departure will determine how much additional rainfall and wind damage accumulates across already-affected communities in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Citas Notables
Verbena is currently over the coastal waters of Pinamungahan, Cebu while moving northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour.— Chenel Dominguez, weather specialist, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
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