'Lawin' intensifies into a tropical storm; no public storm signals yet

MANILA -- Tropical Depression “Lawin” (international name: Jelawat) has intensified into a storm but the state weather agency on Friday said no public storm warning signals has been raised.

Weather Forecaster Rene Paciente said as of 4 a.m. Friday, Tropical Storm Lawin was seen 670 km east of Virac, Catanduanes (13.5°N, 131.4°E) with maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.

Paciente said it is still still far to directly affect any part of the country even as it slightly gained speed moving westward at 11 kph.

With its present speed, Paciente said they expect the cyclone to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) “anytime next week.”

“Hindi pa natin masasabi sa ngayon, kung anong eksaktong araw ang labas nito ng bansa dahil posible pang mabago ang bilis nito. Pero base sa mga models sa ngayon, posibleng next week pa ang labas nito,” he said.

In its advisory, Pagasa said that Metro Manila will experience partly cloudy skies with brief rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Occasional light to moderate rains will be experienced in Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley. However, Pagasa said expect moderate to heavy rains in these areaa during thunderstorms.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy skies with brief rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the east will prevail over extreme Northern Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the southwest to west with slight to moderate seas. (PNA)