‘Quiel’ intensifies but still too far to affect Philippines—Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical storm Quiel (international name: Nalgae) has slightly intensified as it continued to move westward, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Thursday.

In its latest weather bulletin, Pagasa said that Quiel was packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 140 kph. The storm was seen 1,150 km east of Aparri, Cagayan and was forecast to move westward at 13 kph.

No storm signal warnings have been raised since Quiel was still too far to directly affect any part of the country. Quiel was forecast to make landfall either on Saturday or Sunday, Pagasa said.

Meanwhile, Pagasa estimated that the rainfall amount will be from 15 to 25 millimeters per hour within the 300 kilometer radius of the tropical storm.

By Friday morning, Quiel will be 870 km east of Aparri, Cagayan and by Saturday morning, 560 km east of Aparri, Cagayan. Quiel is expected to be 260 km east of Aparri, Cagayan by Sunday morning, the state-run weather bureau said.