MANILA, (PNA) — The low pressure area hovering in Palawan is expected to re-intensify into a tropical depression, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Tuesday.
In a interview, PAGASA weather forecaster Connie Dadivas said that in the next 24 hours the LPA may intensify again into a cyclone, while passing the sea.
If it again strengthens into a tropical depression, it will retain its local name “Wilma.”
Dadivas said the LPA may make a second landfall in Palawan before exiting the country heading towards Vietnam.
“Wilma” is the first cyclone to affect the country this month and the 23rd for the year.
Dadivas said as of 4:00 a.m., the LPA was spotted some 190 km northeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan (10.5 °N, 120.5 °E) embedded along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
She said the LPA will bring cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over Mimaropa which may trigger flashfloods and landslides while Western Visayas and Bicol Region will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.
She added that ITCZ continues to bring light rains over the rest of Visayas and Mindanao.
Dadivas said the rest of the country including Metro Manila will have partly cloudy skies to at times cloudy with possible afternoon or evening rains due to localized thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, Dadivas said the other typhoon (international name: Haiyan) over the Pacific Ocean or east of the country is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Thursday.
If it does not change its present direction, she said the typhoon will likely make landfall in the Bicol region.
She said tropical cyclones entering the country at this time usually hit land.
Should it enter the PAR, she said the storm will be locally named “Yolanda.”
PAGASA expects two to three cyclones to affect the country this month.
PAGASA also said issued a gale warning as strong to gale-force winds associated with northeast monsoon is expected to affect the northern seaboard of Northern Luzon.
“Fishing boats and other small sea crafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” it said.
In its advisory, the state weather bureau said moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast will prevail over Luzon and Western Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.
Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the northeast with slight to moderate seas.