Signal No. 1 up over Catanduanes, Samar provinces

MTSAT ENHANCED IR Satellite Image for 11:32 m.n., 31 May 2012

MANILA, Philippines—Signal No. 1 has been raised over Catanduanes and Samar provinces as the active low pressure area east of Samar intensified into a Tropical Depression. The first cyclone to hit the country this year was named “Ambo.”

In its latest weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that as of 4 a.m.., Ambo was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 260 kilometers east of Borongan, Eastern Samar.

It was sustaining maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center and was forecast to move northwest at 17 kph, Pagasa said.

The province of Catanduanes will have rains with gusty winds with moderate to rough seas while the rest of the country will experience mostly cloudy skies w/ scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rains over the rest of the eastern section of southern Luzon and Visayas which may trigger flashflood and landslides, said Pagasa.