AFTER leaving the Philippine Area of Responsibility, Typhoon Odette (Usagi) aims at mainland China. State weather forecasters estimated the eye of the cyclone to be 320 km West of Itbayat, Batanes at 4:00 a.m. Sunday.
Odette carries maximum sustained winds of about 160 kph near the center and gustiness of about 195 kph. Now downgraded into a typhoon, Odette is forecast to maintain its west northwestward movement at 19 kph.
Odette is expected to further weaken once it makes landfall in China.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that the Southwest Monsoon affects Luzon.
"Metro Manila, Mimaropa and Calabarzon will experience cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rain and thunderstorms which may trigger flasfloods and landslides," Pagasa said.
"Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms. Mindanao and the rest of Visayas will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms," it added.
Moderate to strong winds blowing from the Southwest will prevail throughout the entire archipelago and the coastal waters will be moderate to rough.
Pagasa also placed Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, portions of Rizal, and Zambales under Yellow Rainfall Alert 12:05 a.m. Sunday due to the Southwest Monsoon.
"Moderate to heavy rain affecting Cavite, Bataan, and Southern Zambales and most likely to continue for the next three hours," Pagasa said.
The state weather bureau warned against possible flooding in low-lying areas. (See related story here.) (SFP/Sunnex)
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