MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Storm Maring has intensified into a severe tropical storm on even Tropical cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 remains in effect in nine areas in Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported before noon Monday.
Maring was spotted 240 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan or 265 kilometers southeast of Calayan, Cagayan at 10 a.m.
Moving west at 15 kilometers per hour (kph), Maring has maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph.
Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Ilocos region may experience moderate to heavy and at times intense rains.
Meanwhile, light to moderate with at times heavy rains may prevail in Central Luzon and the rest of Cagayan Valley.
Monsoon rains may be possible in the Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro due to the southwest monsoon enhanced by Maring.
Metro Manila, meantime, may have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.
The following areas are under Signal No. 2 (damaging gale-force to storm-force winds prevailing or expected within 24 hours)
-Batanes
-Cagayan including Babuyan Islands
-Northern portion of Isabela (Palanan, Divilacan, Maconacon, Ilagan City, Tumauini, Cabagan, San Pablo, Santa Maria, Santo Tomas, Delfin Albano, Quirino, Gamu, Roxas, Mallig, Quezon)
-Apayao
-Kalinga
-Mountain Province
-Abra
-Ilocos Norte
-Ilocos Sur
Signal No. 1 (strong winds prevailing or expected within 36 hours) is up over the following areas:
-rest of Isabela
-Nueva Vizcaya
-Quirino
-Ifugao
-Benguet
-La Union
-Pangasinan
-Aurora
-Nueva Ecija
-Tarlac
-Zambales
-Pampanga
-Bulacan
-Northern portion of Bataan (Samal, Morong, Dinalupihan, Abucay, Orani, Hermosa)
-Northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta) including Polillo Islands
-Calaguas Islands