MANILA, Philippines – The low pressure area (LPA) spotted outside the country has turned into a tropical depression which may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in 24 hours, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Tuesday.
Nathaniel Servando, Pagasa chief, said the tropical cyclone, which was estimated some 1, 075 kilometers east of northeastern Mindanao, is moving northwestward slowly while packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 70 kph.
Once inside the country, Servando said the tropical depression would be named ‘Basyang,’ the second storm this year.
In its forecast earlier on Tuesday, Pagasa said the weather disturbance would pass between Mindanao and Visayas where it would dump rains starting on Thursday.
This early, Servando said its trough or extension is already affecting Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Negros Island Region, Caraga, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, and Zamboanga Peninsula where cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms would prevail.
