MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Storm Paeng may have yet to finish moving through Southern and Central Luzon, but state meteorologists are monitoring another low pressure area (LPA) just southeast of the cyclone.
During its weather report late Friday night, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) confirmed that an LPA was spotted 1,700 kilometers east of Mindanao.
It is still outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), but Pagasa expects it to enter and possibly affect local weather by Monday. In contrast, Paeng is expected to leave PAR between Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
“Samantala, meron po tayong namataan na low pressure area sa labas ng Philippine area of responsibility, around 1,700 kilometers po sa silangan ng Mindanao,” weather specialist Benison Estareja said.
(Meanwhile, we have observed a low pressure area outside the Philippine area of responsibility, around 1,700 kilometers east of Mindanao.)
“Itong low pressure area ay posibleng pumasok ng ating area of responsibility pagsapit po ng Lunes, so bago pa matapos ang buwan ng October ay meron pa tayong weather disturbance na mino-monitor sa ngayon, at sa mga unang araw po ng Novemeber ay unti-unting lalapit sa ating kalupaan,” he added.
(This low pressure area will possibly enter our area of responsibility by Monday, so even before the month of October ends, we would monitor another weather disturbance, and in the first few days of November it would slowly move closer to the landmass.)
Pagasa is also not discounting the possibility that the LPA may intensify into a tropical depression.
“Hindi rin natin inaalis ‘yong posibilidad na ito ay maging isang mahinang bagyo,” Estareja said.
(We are also not discounting the possibility that it may develop into a weak cyclone.)
This is not the first time that the Philippines would possibly see back-to-back cyclones during this season. In 2020, the country was rocked by a series of successive storms that had a great effect on agriculture and infrastructure.
In just a month’s time — between October 11 to Thursday, November 12 — six to eight cyclones entered PAR with all but one making landfall.
Within these eight include Typhoons Pepito and Quinta, Super Typhoon Rolly, and Typhoon Ulysses which brought immense flooding in Metro Manila, nearby towns of Rizal province, Central Luzon, and Cagayan Valley.
READ: Pagasa: ‘Ofel’ keeps strength; S. Luzon, Bicol must brace for moderate to heavy rain
As for Paeng, Pagasa’s last update showed that the storm was able to maintain its strength, still packing maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, and gustiness of up to 105 kph.
Paeng is expected to make landfall in either Albay, Camarines Sur, or Catanduanes anytime between late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
After that, the cyclone is seen to move over Quezon province, then towards Metro Manila, before emerging out of Manila Bay. It would then hit the western side of Central Luzon, before moving northward over the West Philippine Sea.
READ: Paeng may make landfall in either CamSur, Albay, or Catanduanes — Pagasa