Ulysses weakens into severe tropical storm, to exit PAR Friday morning

Forecast track of severe tropical storm Ulysses issued by Pagasa at 5 a.m. on Friday, November 13, 2020. (Image from Pagasa)

MANILA, Philippines — Ulysses has weakened into a severe tropical storm and  is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility Friday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.

Pagasa, in its 5 a.m. severe weather bulletin, reported that Ulysses is likely to maintain its strength in the next 24 hours before eventually weakening within the next 36 to 48 hours due to “increasingly unfavorable conditions” caused by the surge of the northeast monsoon.

As of 4 a.m. Friday, the center of the severe tropical storm was spotted 415 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales and moving west at 20 kilometers per hour (kph) with maximum sustained winds of 110 kph and gustiness of up to 135 kph. 

Friday weather outlook

Pagasa said Ulysses and the surge of the northeast monsoon will continue to bring gusty conditions to Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos region, Zambales, Bataan, and northern Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Island.

Until Friday afternoon, the weather disturbance will also bring moderate to heavy and at times intense rains to Batanes, Babuyan Islands, northern and eastern portions of mainland Cagayan, the eastern portion of Isabela, Aurora, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Apayao.

Meanwhile, light to moderate and at times heavy rains will be experienced in the Ilocos region, the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region, the rest of Cagayan Valley, the northern portion of Quezon including Polillo Islands, Zambales and Bataan.

“Flooding (including flash floods), rain-induced landslides, and sediment-laden streamflows (i.e. lahar) may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards and/or those that received significant antecedent rainfall,” Pagasa warned. 

Coastal waters

Within the next 24 hours, the combined effects of Ulysses and the surge of the northeast monsoon will bring rough to very rough seas (2.5 to 5.5 meters) over the seaboards of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, and Zambales.

The same coastal water condition will also be observed in the northern seaboard of mainland Cagayan, and the western seaboards of Bataan, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro (including Lubang Island), and Palawan (including Calamian and Kalayaan Islands).

“Sea travel is risky for all types of seacraft over these waters,” Pagasa said. 

Meanwhile, moderate to rough seas (2.0 to 3.5 meters) will be observed over the eastern seaboards of Luzon.

Pagasa warned crewmebers and operators of small vessels to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea.

It added that inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating the sea in these conditions.

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