Typhoons Igme, Julian gain strength

MANILA -- The two typhoons inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) have gained strength, posing possible threat to Northern Luzon, the weather bureau said Thursday.

Typhoon "Igme" (international codename: Tembin) gained strength Thursday while moving westward, while Typhoon "Julian" (international codename: Belovin), which entered the PAR Thursday afternoon, accelerated slightly for the past six hours.

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) located Igme at 250 kilometers (km) north of Basco, Batanes, packing maximum winds of 140 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.

Igme is moving west at seven kph. It is forecast to be 250 kilometers (km) north northwest of Basco, Batanes by Friday evening and at 320 km northwest of the area by Saturday evening.

Julian, on the other hand, was located 1,120 km east of Basco, Batanes as of 10 p.m. Thursday, the Pagasa said, adding that it has a maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

Moving west northwest at 15 kph, Julian is expected to be at 810 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes on Friday evening; and 650 km northeast the same area by Saturday evening.

Pagasa forecaster Jun Galang said Julian is not likely to have any direct effect on the Philippines as of now, but there is a possibility the two cyclones would interact with each other. This interaction is known as “Fujiwhara effect” or “dumbbell effect.”

Galang said the Fujiwhara effect is characterized by two cyclones orbiting each other. He said, though, that Julian has a slim chance to make landfall in the country but it would likely pass near Northern Luzon on a path different from Igme's.

Pagasa earlier raised storm signal number 2 over the Batanes Group of Islands, while the Calayan and Babuyan Group of Islands were placed under storm signal number 1 (30-60 kph winds) due to Typhoon Igme.

Igme and Julian are expected to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rains over southern Luzon, Visayas, including some parts of Mindanao.

Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon due to big waves generated by the two tropical cyclones. (Sunnex)