Satellite Image-5:01 PM-January 14. SCREENGRAB from noah.dost.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines–The weather disturbance seen to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has intensified into a tropical storm on Wednesday afternoon and has taken the international name “Mekkhala.”
Mekkhala was last observed 1,365 kilometers east of Visayas, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Adminitration (Pagasa) said.
The storm is forecast to move west northwest at 19 kph.
Pagasa earlier said it is expected to enter PAR by Wednesday night or early Thursday.
It is not seen to make landfall, but it will bring rains in parts of Visayas and Mindanao in the coming days.
“Caraga and Eastern Visayas will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rains while the rest of Visayas and Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rains,” Pagasa said in its afternoon bulletin.
Thunderstorms are likely to occur over this areas as the storm approaches, it added.
The visit of Pope Francis in Leyte on Saturday, January 17, could be a rainy one, Pagasa said in its special weather outlook on Tuesday.
The northeast monsoon continues to prevail in Luzon and will bring cloudy skies with light rains.
“Cagayan Valley will have cloudy skies with light rains,” Pagasa said.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated light rains.
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