‘Labuyo’ now a storm, extreme weather alert up

MANILA, Philippines—Tropical depression “Labuyo” gained strength and turned into a storm on Saturday as it approached the country, prompting the state weather bureau to hoist storm alerts in several parts of Luzon.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the eye of the storm was some 450 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes. The storm had center winds of 105 kilometers per hour gusting up to 135 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. It was moving west northwest at 19 kph.

Public storm signal No. 1, indicating 45-60 kph winds, was raised over Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Quezon, Polilio Island, Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quirino, and Catanduanes.

Moderate to intense rains falling at a rate of 5-16 millimeters per hour are expected in areas coming within the storm’s 600-kilometer wide area of circulation, Pagasa said.

The weather bureau said the storm was expected to would exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Pagasa’s 24-hour weather outlook, Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quirino, Northern Quezon including Polilio Island, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon and Catanduanes will experience rains with gusty winds and  moderate to rough seas.

Metro Manila, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Masbate, and the rest of Quezon, the Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms, Pagasa said.

The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, it added.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest to southeast will prevail over Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, Pagasa said.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the east to northeast with slight to moderate seas, it said.

Originally posted at 3:47 p.m.