Friday, December 09, 2005

The northeast moonsoon (Amihan wind season) is back. It's kite season again. Time to unpack my kite bag and hang 'em all high (I mean my kites).If you are not familiar with the wind season, let's start with some translation. "Amihan" is the Tagalog/Filipino term for the northeast moonsoon (steady wind coming from that direction). "Habagat" is the southwest moonsoon (erratic & gusty wind from that direction).The Amihan wind arrives sometime in October and lasts until around May. The Habagat wind season takes over bringing with it the moonsoon rains and tropical typhoons. This season lasts till September or even early October.This makes the two season climate of the Philippines. The "dry season"with the prevailing Amihan wind and the "wet season" with the howling Habagat winds.