BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – State weather bureau PAGASA has confirmed that a tropical cyclone is now in Philippine territory and is expected to strengthen into a Category 3 or 4 storm as it moves across the archipelago.
“…(T)he highest possible TCWS that will be raised throughout the passage of this typhoon will be TCWS #3 or #4 (associated with destructive to very destructive typhoon-force winds),” PAGASA said in its 11pm advisory last night, 29 October.
It added the storm is expected to hit land “over the Central Luzon-Quezon area on Sunday evening or Monday morning.”
It is also “forecast to continuously intensify over the Philippine Sea and is likely to make landfall at peak intensity of 165-185 km/h.”
“The rainbands of the typhoon will likely bring rains over Bicol Region and the eastern section of Northern and Central Luzon beginning on Saturday or Sunday.”
There are no areas under any storm signal as of now.
The rest of the bulletin reads:
Hazards affecting coastal waters:
Rough to very rough seas (2.5 to 4.0 m) will be experienced over the seaboards of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, and Ilocos Sur and the northern seaboard of mainland Cagayan due to the northeasterlies. A Gale Warning is in effect for these waters. As such, sea travel is risky over these areas, especially for mariners of small seacrafts.
Moderate to rough seas (1.2 to 2.5 m) will be experienced over the remaining seaboards of Northern Luzon. Mariners of small seacrafts are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea. Inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating in these conditions.
