MANILA, Philippines—The severe tropical storm has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and now named ‘Gorio,’ the second storm to hit the country this month and the seventh this year, the state weather agency said on Monday.
Weather specialist Daniel James Villamil of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Gorio, also a severe tropical storm, was estimated at 1,305 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon.
Moving westward at 25 kilometers per hour (kph), Gorio has maximum sustained winds of 110kph near the center and gustiness of up to 135kph, Pagasa’s latest bulletin said.
Gorio remains far from the Luzon landmass, hence, it has no direct effect yet to the weather in the country, the Pagasa forecaster said.
However, if the severe tropical storm would move southward, there would be a possibility of raising a storm signal in Northern Luzon areas specifically Batanes, he added.
“Gorio may reach typhoon category within the next 12 hours before gradually weakening throughout the remaining forecast period as it may exit PAR by Wednesday evening or early Thursday early morning,” Villamil said.
Over the next 24 hours, the state weather bureau said most parts of the country including Metro Manila would be experiencing generally fair weather except for scattered and isolated rain showers and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon or habagat.
The rest of the country, meanwhile, would likely have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated downpours or thunderstorms caused by the localized thunderstorms, it added.
