MANILA, Dec. 10 (PNA) – As tropical storm “Ruby” is expected to leave the country Wednesday evening, another weather disturbance is forecast to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
In an interview, PAGASA weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said that as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, TS “Ruby” was located at 350 kilometers northeast of PAGASA island, Palawan (13.7°N, 115.8°E), packed with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It is forecast to move westward at 15 kph.
Quitlong said “Ruby” is expected to exit the PAR at 8 p.m. Wednesday headed toward Vietnam. He added that the storm has a slim chance to re-curve or return to the country.
“Ruby” so far was the strongest tropical cyclone to enter the country this year. It made five landfalls, the first in Dolores, Eastern Visayas on Dec. 6.
Meanwhile, Quitlong said the Low Pressure Area (LPA) still outside the PAR is expected to enter the country by Friday.
He said the LPA was spotted some 1,450 km east of Mindanao (7.6°N, 139.5°E) as of Wednesday afternoon.
Quitlong said once the LPA enters the PAR, it will not directly affect the country but will be felt on Sunday in Eastern Visayas and Mindanao.
According to Quitlong, the LPA has a high chance to develop into a tropical depression which will be locally named “Seniang” — the 19th cyclone to affect the country this year.
For the next 24 hours, Quitlong said that except in Northern Luzon, most parts of the country, including Metro Manila, will experience fair weather except for partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.
He added that due to the northeast monsoon, the regions of Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Ilocos will experience cloudy skies with light rains.
Quitlong said the combined effects of TS “Ruby” and the northeast monsoon will cause rough to very rough sea conditions over the seaboards of northern and western seaboards of Central Luzon.
“Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” PAGASA warned. (PNA)