MANILA, Philippines — The severe tropical storm outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has intensified into a typhoon and may enter Philippine territory by Friday, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Pagasa said the typhoon (international name: Haishen) was last spotted 1,800 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon.
“Sa labas ng PAR particularly sa silangang bahagi, ay meron tayong minomonitor na bagyo na may international name na Haishen. Nasa typhoon category na ito ngayon,” Pagasa senior weather specialist Loriedin Dela Cruz said in a 4 a.m. weather forecast on Thursday.
(We are currently monitoring a tropical cyclone with the international name Haishen outside PAR, particularly in the eastern section. It is now in a typhoon category.)
“Sa nakikita nating outlook sa bagyo, posible itong pumasok panandalian ng ating PAR bukas po ‘yan or by Friday. Panandalian lang po ‘yan papasok ng PAR and eventually ay lalabas din. Ang tinatahak nito ay posibleng patungong sa landmass ng Japan,” she added.
(Based on the outlook we see for the typhoon, it may briefly enter PAR by Friday and will eventually head for Japan.)
“Haishen” has maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of 150 kph. It is moving west northwest at 20 kph.
Once it enters PAR, the typhoon will be locally named as “Kristine.”
Meanwhile, Dela Cruz said the southwest monsoon or “habagat” will bring moderate to strong winds in northern Luzon.
Pagasa’s forecast showed that the entire country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to the southwest monsoon or localized thunderstorms.
Forecast temperature range in key cities:
Metro Manila: 25 to 33 degrees Celsius
Baguio City: 16 to 24 degrees Celsius
Laoag City: 25 to 32 degrees Celsius
Tuguegarao: 25 to 35 degrees Celsius
Legazpi City: 26 to 34 degrees Celsius
Puerto Princesa City: 25 to 33 degrees Celsius
Iloilo City: 26 to 33 degrees Celsius
Cebu City: 25 to 34 degrees Celsius
Tacloban City: 25 to 32 degrees Celsius
Cagayan De Oro City: 24 to 33 degrees Celsius
Zamboanga City: 24 to 34 degrees Celsius
Davao City: 26 to 33 degrees Celsius