Cagayan Valley, Bicol may be put under TCWS 1 due to Leon
CAGAYAN Valley and the northeastern portion of Bicol Region may be placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 1 Sunday night (October 27) or on Monday, October 28, 2024.
This is possible with Tropical Storm Leon (Kong-rey) moving westward over the Philippine Sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Sunday, October 27.
The weather bureau said that as of 10 a.m., Leon was spotted at 1,075 kilometers east of Central Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center, gusts of up to 80 km/h, and central pressure of 994 hPa. Leon was moving westward at 30 km/h.
“Depending on how close it will be during its north northwestward movement over the Philippine Sea, the outer rainbands of Leon may affect extreme northern Luzon,” said Pagasa.
Pagasa said Leon is expected to gradually intensify in the next 24 hours and may reach severe tropical storm category by Monday, October 28, and typhoon category on Tuesday, October 29.
It was, however, forecast to remain far from the Philippine landmass and may pass very close or make landfall over the southwestern portion of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
Pagasa earlier said that Leon is most likely to influence the movement of Tropical Storm Kristine back to the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by the end of the week.
Kristine exited the PAR on Friday, October 25.
Pagasa said the interaction of Kristine and Leon may persist until the first week of November. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)