‘Karen’ gains strength; another LPA spotted off Zambales
-A A +AThursday, September 13, 2012
MANILA (Updated, 8:27 p.m.)-- As Typhoon "Karen" continues to gain strength while hovering east of Luzon, another weather disturbance has been spotted outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the country's weather agency said Thursday afternoon.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Karen was located at 740 kilometers (km) east of Baler, Aurora.
With maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kph, Karen is forecast to move northwest at 15 kph, and with its present speed, it is expected to leave the Philippine territory by Saturday evening or Sunday morning on its way to southern Japan, weather forecaster Bernie De Leon said.
De Leon said Karen may not make landfall in any part of the country since it will only pass over the eastern seas of the country.
He added that no public storm signal has been raised.
Karen is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rains over the Visayas and Mindanao, particularly the western section.
Meanwhile, the low pressure area (LPA) was estimated at 580 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales, still outside the PAR and has 50 percent chance to develop into a tropical storm, the Pagasa said.
Once the weather disturbance develops into a tropical depression, it will be named "Lawin," the 12th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year.
De Leon said the effects of the LPA and the southwest monsoon will bring rains over the eastern section of Southern Luzon.
In its advisory, Pagasa said that occasionally moderate to heavy rains will be experienced in the regions of Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Western Visayas that may trigger flashfloods and landslides.
Metro Manila will be cloudy with light to moderate rains, while the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms. (PNA/Sunnex)
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