AFTER bulldozing northern and central Luzon for the past two days, a weakened Typhoon “Lando” was expected to pull out of the Luzon landmass today (Tuesday).
Lando (international name Koppu) was downgraded into a severe tropical storm late Monday with maximum winds of 105 kilometers per hour (from 120 kph earlier in the day) and gusts up to 135 kph (from 150 kph)
It was expected to further weaken into a tropical storm by early Tuesday before it reaches the country’s northern seaboard.
The cyclone steadily lost strength since slamming into the mountainous Cordillera region from early Sunday.
On Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) lowered storm warning signals from No. 3 to No. 2 in provinces that were in the typhoon’s path.
Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Cagayan (including the Calayan and Babuyan islands) were placed under Signal No. 2.
Aurora and Nueva Ecija which bore the brunt of the typhoon’s onslaught Sunday were placed under warning Signal No. 1.
Also placed under the lowest warning signal were La Union, Pangasinan, Ifugao, Benguet, Batanes, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga.
By Monday morning, Pagasa had lifted warning signals over Metro Manila and surrounding provinces Bataan, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Laguna and Batangas.
The storm was expected to exit the Luzon landmass from Ilocos Norte or Cagayan Tuesday, after slowly skirting the coastline of the Ilocos region on Monday.
Pagasa, however, said the tail end of the typhoon will still be felt over the northern provinces until the end of the week while the Taiwan-bound cyclone remained within the country’s northern seaboard.
Meteorologist Benison Estareja said the weather would begin to improve over central Luzon around Thursday, and over northern Luzon around Friday.