MANILA, Philippines — Severe Tropical Storm Inday is still not expected to hit any part of the country’s landmass, but tropical cyclone wind signals may be raised if its track moves towards Batanes, according to the state weather bureau.
Weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Friday afternoon showed Inday’s last location at 730 kilometers east of Calayan, Cagayan.
Inday is still packing maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 125 kph. It is moving northwestward at a speed of 20 kph. As of now, Inday may intensify into a typhoon, as it is seen to be staying over water for a longer time.
READ: Inday now a severe tropical storm, may become a typhoon – Pagasa
Pagasa’s forecast track for Inday shows that the cyclone will continue moving northwest and may be outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) between Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
However, Inday’s probable track is still wide, as any eastward or southward movement may mean that it will be off Itbayat, Batanes. Should this happen, tropical cyclone wind signals may be raised.
More accurate movements and developments may be predicted over the weekend, weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said.
“So ngayon meron tayong binabantayang isa pang scenario sa ngayon. Kung ito’y kikilos nang ganito wala tayong inaasahan na signal ngunit kapag ito ay bumaba pa nang bahagya, dito sa may bandang silangan ng Itbayat, Batanes, possible maglagay tayo ng hanggang Signal No. 1 over the extreme northern Luzon dahil sa paglapit nitong bagyo dito sa kalupaan ng dulong hilagang Luzon,” he said.
“Kritikal pa rin natin still, tomorrow hanggang Sunday,” he added.
Isolated rain is possible over a huge part of the country, with temperatures slightly lower in some parts of Luzon due to the southwest monsoon and the trough of Inday.
Temperatures over Metro Manila on Saturday may play between 25 to 33 degrees Celsius, but other areas in Luzon would be slightly colder like Legazpi with 25 to 31 degrees, Tuguegarao with 24 to 31 degrees, Laoag with 23 to 31 degrees, and Tagaytay with 22 to 30 degrees.
The Visayas will also have slightly colder temperatures, with Tacloban and Iloilo having something around 25 to 31 degrees Celsius and Cebu having 26 to 31 degrees. Over Mindanao, the weather would be hot and humid, from Cagayan de Oro’s 25 to 32 degrees, Zamboanga’s 25 to 33 degrees, and Davao’s 24 to 33 degrees.
Inday is unlikely to bring heavy and widespread rain, but it would cause rough seas in the seaboards of Batanes and the Babuyan Islands, with waves reaching up to 2.0 meters to 4.0 meters in Batanes.
Pagasa warned that these conditions might make sea travel, especially using small boats, not possible.