MANILA, Philippines – The tropical storm with the international name Kong-rey is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Saturday evening, October 26, or early Sunday morning, October 27.
It would be the country’s 12th tropical cyclone for 2024, and will be given the local name Leon once it enters PAR.
As of 10 am on Saturday, Kong-rey was located 1,630 kilometers east of Central Luzon, moving west at a relatively fast 30 kilometers per hour (km/h).
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in an advisory issued at 11 am that Kong-rey still has maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h and gustiness of up to 80 km/h.
But it may gradually intensify and become a severe tropical storm on Sunday, and a typhoon on Monday, October 28.
So far, Kong-rey’s forecast track shows it will remain far from Philippine landmass after entering PAR.
But “depending on how close it will be during its recurvature over the Philippine Sea, the outer rainbands of Kong-rey” may affect extreme Northern Luzon, PAGASA said.
It could also “continue to influence the southwesterly windflow” initially triggered by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami). The southwesterly windflow is seen to bring rain to the western part of Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao in the coming days.
The weather bureau added that Kong-rey may cause moderate to rough seas in the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon and the eastern seaboard of the Visayas as it approaches.
Meanwhile, Kristine, which left PAR at 2 pm on Friday, October 25, was already 745 kilometers west of Bacnotan, La Union, as of 8 am on Saturday. The severe tropical storm is moving west at 35 km/h.
Kristine intensified on Saturday morning, with its maximum sustained winds increasing to 110 km/h from 95 km/h. Its gustiness is now up to 135 km/h from 115 km/h.
PAGASA said early Saturday that the trough or extension of the severe tropical storm may still bring scattered rain and thunderstorms to Occidental Mindoro and Palawan during the day.
Scattered rain and thunderstorms are also likely in the Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga on Saturday, but due to the southwesterly windflow.
The rest of the country will have generally fair weather, but isolated rain showers or thunderstorms are possible.
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PAGASA also continues to monitor Kristine because it could make a U-turn, and possibly reenter PAR next week. Its movement will “heavily depend” on Kong-rey’s behavior, the weather bureau had said.
The death toll from Kristine rose to 81 on Saturday morning, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. – Rappler.com