Ulysses will be 50 kilometers near NCR before Thursday dawn – Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — Even as Typhoon Ulysses deviated from its initially predicted track, the state weather bureau said it will still cross Metro Manila with its center likely 50 kilometers from the nation’s capital region between 4:00 a.m and 6:00 a.m. Thursday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) latest forecast indicated that Ulysses will no longer directly hit Southern Luzon and approximately southern Metro Manila for it will instead strike Central Luzon after passing Quezon province.

According to state weather experts, Ulysses will slightly swerve to the northwest direction from Quezon to traverse between north of Metro Manila and the Central Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, or Tarlac.

“Possible landfall naman sa mainland ng Quezon ay sa pagitan ng ala-1 at alas-3 ng madaling araw bukas. Tatawirin ang Gitnang Luzon, nearest distance ng sentro sa Metro Manila, north of Manila sa pagitan po ng alas-4 hanggang alas-6 ng umaga,” senior weather specialist Chris Perez said.

(Ulysses would possibly make landfall over the mainland Quezon between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. of Thursday.  It would then cross Central Luzon and its center would be nearest to Metro Manila between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.)

“Around 50 kilometers north of Manila ang tinataya nating sentro and tuluyang lalagpas ng kalupaan ng ating bansa via the Zambales area bukas rin ng umaga, sa pagitan po ng alas siete hanggang alas nueve ng umaga,” he added.

(Our predictions say that it would be just around 50 kilometers north of Metro Manila, before leaving the Luzon landmass by tomorrow morning also, around 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.)

However, Pagasa reminded the public that the typhoon’s track can still change at this point. It said it remains possible for Ulysses to either go northward – which could drift farther away from Metro Manila – or go south to directly slam the southern portions of the National Capital Region and other areas in Calabarzon.

Any which way, Ulysses is predicted to intensify before making landfall early Thursday morning as it is expected to keep its typhoon category while crossing the Luzon landmass.

The latest data on Ulysses shows that the typhoon packs maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph. Pagasa said it saw Ulysses 60 kilometers east-northeast of Daet, Camarines Norte, and was moving westward at a speed of 20 kph.

Pagasa said that from Wednesday night up to Thursday morning, towns in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan may experience heavy to intense rain with at times torrential rains.

Moderate to heavy rain with at times intense showers may also prevail over the Cordillera Administrative Region, mainland Cagayan Valley, Catanduanes, Marinduque, the northern portion of Mindoro Provinces, and the rest of Central Luzon during the same period.

Pagasa also warned of possible storm surges in several coastal areas of Aurora, Quezon including Polillo Islands, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, and the northern and eastern coastal areas of Camarines Sur  — where waves may reach as high as 3.0 meters.

Waves as high as 2.0 meters may also affect the coastal areas of La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, northern portions of Mindoro Provinces including Lubang Island, Marinduque, Romblon, Masbate including Ticao and Burias Islands, Albay, and Sorsogon, and the remaining coastal areas of Camarines Sur, according to Pagasa.

Storm surges occur when winds brought by a cyclone push seawater onto the coastal area, like large waves.

Fishers and boatmen have been prevented to set out in areas under tropical cyclone wind signals, as sea conditions may range from rough to very rough — with waves possibly reaching as high as 10 meters.

Gale warnings were also placed in the extreme Northern Luzon region due to the northeast monsoon.  Meanwhile, Pagasa again advised residents to follow evacuation orders as flooding and landslides are imminent in high-risk areas.

KGA