MANILA -- The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday said that the low pressure spotted off Catanduanes will intensify into a cyclone in one or two days.
Prisco Nilo, director of Pagasa, said the LPA (low pressure area) has a “good chance” of developing into a tropical depression as it approaches land.
“The LPA may develop into tropical depression in 24 to 48 hours. The new storm may cross Northern Luzon,” he told Sun.Star.
Pagasa said that as of 2 a.m. Tuesday, the LPA was spotted at 570 kilometers east northeast of Catanduanes.
The LPA was embedded along the intertropical convergence zone, which has been affecting Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Under Pagasa’s storm classification system, a tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour near the center.
The likely fourth storm to enter the country will be named “Domeng”.
Earlier, Pag-asa said that about 13 to 15 tropical storms are expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this year, with three coming from August alone. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)