‘Mawar’ now inside Philippine area of responsibility

SUPER Typhoon Mawar has entered the Philippine area of responsibility and was named “Betty,” said the state weather bureau Saturday morning, May 27, 2023.

As of 4 a.m., the center of Betty was located at 1,320 kilometers east of Central Luzon, with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center, gusts of up to 240 km/h, and central pressure of 915 hPa.

It was moving west northwestward at 25 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

No Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals have been raised yet, but Pagasa said that in anticipation of possible strong breeze to gale-force conditions caused by the approaching super typhoon, wind signals may be hoisted in some areas of Northern Luzon (especially in the northern portion) Saturday night or Sunday morning, May 28.

It said that Batanes, Babuyan Islands, and the northern portions of mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, and Apayao will experience heavy rainfall from early morning of Monday to Tuesday.

In areas that will not be directly affected by the super typhoon, monsoon rains from the enhanced Southwest Monsoon are possible over the western sections of Mimaropa, Visayas, and Mindanao on Sunday, May 28.

On Monday and Tuesday, monsoon rains are likely over the western sections of Mimaropa and Western Visayas, and possible over the rest of Mimaropa and Western Visayas.

“Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazard as identified in hazard maps and in localities that experienced considerable amounts of rainfall for the past several days,” said Pagasa in its 5 a.m. Saturday bulletin.

The weather bureau also said that the enhanced Southwest Monsoon may bring strong breeze to near gale conditions with intermittent gusts beginning on late Sunday or early Monday over Visayas, the eastern portions of Central and Southern Luzon, and the northern and eastern portions of Mindanao.

Betty was forecast to track generally west northwestward over the weekend.

On Monday, the tropical cyclone will turn northwestward and decelerate as it moves over the waters east of extreme northern Luzon.

“Betty may eventually become almost stationary between late Tuesday and early Wednesday when it will be closest to Batanes,” said Pagasa.

Betty was also forecast to remain as a super typhoon over the weekend.

“Although it will likely maintain its strength for the next 36-48 hours, short-term intensification is not ruled out especially in the next 12 to 24 hours. However, this tropical cyclone may begin weakening considerably on Monday or Tuesday during its slowdown period over the waters east of Batanes due to potential unfavorable conditions (e.g., effect of upwelling of cooler ocean water and dry air intrusion),” the advisory stated. (LMY)