Typhoon ‘Jose’ about to exit country

MT Satellite image August 7, 2014, 6:32 a.m. Screengrab from https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/

MANILA, Philippines–After lingering in the Philippines for nearly a week, Typhoon “Jose” is about to exit the country Thursday morning.

In its bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration spotted Jose 960 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, as of 4 a.m. Thursday.

Jose packed maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to185 kph and moved north northeast at 11 kph.

Despite the impending exit of the typhoon, the southwest monsoon (habagat) would still prevail over Northern and Central Luzon, according to Pagasa.

Pagasa said Ilocos Region, Batanes group of islands and Calayan group of islands would experience occasional rains, while Metro Manila and the rest of the country would have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms.