A GLOOMY weather will pervade in Cebu as the low pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) has become a tropical depression on Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, 2019.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) named the weather disturbance as Tropical Depression Ramon.
However, Cebu could expect a better weather condition on Thursday, Nov. 14 as Ramon’s path is going north.
Ramon is the country’s 18th tropical cyclone in 2019 and second in November.
The Pagasa’s central office issued a bulletin past 11 a.m. Tuesday, stating that the tropical depression was spotted 835 kilometers east southeast of Virac, Catanduanes, or 685 kilometers east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar.
Pagasa Visayas officer-in-charge Al Quiblat said Ramon is moving towards northern Luzon in a slow pace of 20 kilometers per hour (km/h).
Sudden bursts of rain in Cebu on Tuesday were attributed to a trough, or extension of the tropical depression.
Quiblat said Ramon could become a tropical storm in 48 hours.
In Visayas, the provinces of Eastern and Northern Samar would experience the brunt of Ramon.
Cebu is experiencing winds of 30-40 km/h. This could reach up to 50 km/h in the coming days.
A gale warning would be raised if maximum winds reach up to 50-60 km/h.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ramon was spotted 670 kilometers east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar. It has sustained maximum winds of up to 55 km/h near its center and gusts of up to 70 km/h.
Eastern Samar and eastern part of Northern Samar were placed under Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number 1.
If Ramon sustains its slow pace and it would not veer off its path, the Pagasa expects it would make a landfall in northern Luzon on Sunday, Nov. 17 before it would exit PAR. (HBL, KAL)