The hoisting of a tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) over some areas in Northern Luzon is possible either Wednesday night or Thursday, the weather bureau said.
Though no TCWS is currently hoisted over any part of the country due to Tropical Depression Obet, the northeasterly surface windflow will cause strong to gale-force winds over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, and the northern portion of mainland Cagayan, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte in the next 24 hours.
Obet packed maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center, and gustiness of up to 55 kph. It was last tracked 920 km. east of extreme Northern Luzon.
Obet may traverse extreme Northern Luzon or the northern portion of mainland Northern Luzon between Friday evening and Saturday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
It added that Obet is forecast to gradually intensify and reach the tropical storm category either late Friday or early Saturday.
PAGASA said it expects moderate to heavy with at times intense rains over Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, and the northern portion of mainland Cagayan from Friday to Saturday.
Over the weekend, light to moderate with at times heavy rains are also possible over Batanes, the northern portion of Ilocos Sur, Abra, Kalinga, and the rest of mainland Cagayan.
Meanwhile, as of Wednesday afternoon, the shearline continued to cause scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Batanes, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, and Aurora.
Flash floods or landslides are possible in these areas due to moderate to at times heavy rains.
Rough to very rough seas continued to prevail over the northern, western, and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon.
PAGASA advised fishing boats and other small seacraft not to venture into the sea, and larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves.
Source: Philippines News Agency