Typhoon Haishen still not a threat to PH, Pagasa says

MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Haishen is not seen to pose a threat to the country as it would only skirt the northeastern portion of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), state meteorologists said.

According to the Thursday afternoon forecast from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Haishen is now moving closer to the PAR boundary, as it is 1,610 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes.

Satellite imagery shows that Haishen is bringing thick cloud bands with it, as big as the entire Luzon mainland.  It was last seen packing maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 160 kph.

The good news is that Pagasa expects Haishen not to impact the country’s weather systems when it enters on Friday, as it would probably move out of the PAR by Sunday morning, and head for the southwestern portion of Japan and south of South Korea.

“Halos magiging malayo ito nga sa ating landmass at after lumabas ng northern boundary ng PAR ay posibleng tumungo sa southern part ng Japan at patungo nga sa Korean peninsula,” senior weather specialist Chris Perez said.

(It would be quite far from our landmass, and after it leaves the northern boundary of the PAR it may move towards the southern part of Japan and the Korean peninsula.)

“Bagamat ‘yong ganito nating inaasahang scenario, magmo-monitor pa rin tayo at magbibigay pa ring ng update sa ating mga kababayan from time to time,” he added.

(But even if we are expecting these scenarios, we would still monitor the weather and give updates from time to time.)

Meanwhile, weather all over the country on Friday may be hot and humid with possible occasional rains due to isolated thunderstorms.  Temperatures in Metro Manila and Puerto Princesa may peak to 33 degrees Celsius during the daytime, while it may reach around 25 to 34 degrees in Legazpi, and 25 to 35 degrees in Tuguegarao.

Cebu’s temperature may also reach 34 degrees Celsius, while it may play between 26 to 33 degrees in Iloilo and Davao.

As of now, no gale warning has been raised although sea condition for the extreme northern Luzon would be moderate to rough due to the weak southwest monsoon.  Luzon’s western coastlines and the whole western seaboard would see a moderate condition, while the rest would be slight to moderate. [ac]