TS ‘Quiel’ almost stationary but not expected to make landfall

MANILA, Philippines — Although Tropical Storm “Quiel” is almost stationary within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), it is not expected to make landfall in the country.

In its 4 p.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Quiel was spotted 455 kilometers west-northwest of Coron in Palawan with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of 90 kph.

The state weather bureau said no tropical cyclone wind signal is raised and that the storm is expected to exit PAR on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Due to Quiel and the tail-end of a cold front, Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Metro Manila are expected to experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers.

Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula are also affected by Tropical Storm Quiel while the rest of Visayas and Mindanao will experience fair weather conditions with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, Typhoon “Halong” was spotted 2,975 kilometers east of northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 215 kph and gustiness of 265 kph.

It is slowly moving north and is not expected to enter PAR.

Pagasa also raised gale warning over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, northern coast of Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, and Palawan.