A tropical storm, with the international name “Chan-him,” may briefly enter the northeastern border of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday, and once inside, will be given its local name “Nika.”
n its tropical cyclone advisory issued at 11 a.m. Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) estimated the location of the storm at 1,780 kilometers (KMS) east of extreme Northern Luzon or still outside the PAR.
Chan-him is a kind of tree and was contributed by Laos.
Chan-hom was a tropical depression in the morning but intensified into a tropical storm before noon with maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. It is seen to continuously intensify throughout the forecast period.
The tropical cyclone will initially move west then northwest until Tuesday before accelerating northwest on Wednesday towards the northeastern boundary of the PAR.
The latest forecast track by PAGASA said Chan-hom will likely enter the PAR on Wednesday and will exit the same day.
PAGASA said Chan-hom is unlikely to directly affect the weather condition in the country over the next five days.
However, a strong northeasterly surface wind flow ahead of the tropical storm will bring rough to very rough sea conditions over the seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands and the northern coast of Ilocos Norte.
PAGASA advised fisherfolk and seafarers that sea travel risky is risky in these areas, especially for those using small boats.
Two low-pressure areas (LPAs) within the PAR continue to affect parts of the country Monday.
At 10 a.m., one of the LPAs was at 355 km east-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes while the other was 400 km southwest of Sangley Point, Cavite or 255 km west of Coron, Palawan.
Weather specialist Joey Figuracion said the LPA west of the country will likely become a tropical depression when it is already outside the PAR while the LPA east of the country may weaken or dissipate in the next few days.
Their combined effects and the southwest monsoon will bring scattered rain showers over the Visayas, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Masbate, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will continue to have fair weather due to partly cloudy to cloudy skies until noon but chances of the isolated afternoon or evening rain showers remain high.
Due to the possibility of heavy rain showers during severe thunderstorms, PAGASA advised the public to take necessary precautionary measures in case of flooding or landslides.