Kristine seen to exit PAR Friday afternoon; rainfall warnings up

MANILA, Philippines — Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami)  has maintained its strength and but is forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Friday afternoon, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa).

“Kristine is forecast to move west northwestward to westward over the next 48 hours and exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility region this afternoon,” Pagasa said in its early morning update.

Pagasa added that Kristine was last spotted some 125 kilometers west-northwest of Bacnotan, La Union, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center with a gustiness of 115 kph.

Kristine is forecast to move 325 kilometers west-northwest of Bacnotan, La Union at around 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

Rainfall warnings

Pagasa said an orange rainfall warning is still up over in Bataan and Zambales, while a yellow rainfall warning in effect in Pampanga and Tarlac.

Areas under orange rainfall warning will receive rainfall between 15 millimeters (mm) and 30 mm in the next two hours, while those under  yellow rainfall warning will have 7.5 mm to 15 mm of rain in the next two hours.

Light to moderate with occasional heavy rains are expected in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Metro Manila, Quezon, Batangas and Cavite “which may persist within 3 hours.”