13 areas under Signal No. 2 as Pepito moves towards the Caraballo-Cordillera mountains

Tropical Storm Pepito continues to move in the west-northwest direction over the Caraballo-Cordillera mountains, according to the Severe Weather Bulletin issued by PAGASA early Wednesday morning.

Pepito is forecast to move generally west-northwestward or westward over the Luzon landmass and emerge over the West Philippine Sea on Wednesday morning. This tropical cyclone may exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Thursday morning or afternoon.

Pepito will likely maintain its strength while crossing the landmass. However, a slight weakening in its intensity remains a possibility. After crossing Luzon, this tropical cyclone is forecast to further intensity and will likely reach severe tropical storm category tomorrow.

On Wedneday, the Tropical Storm will bring moderate to heavy rains over Central Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region, northern Quezon (including Polillo Islands), Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela, mainland Cagayan, La Union, and Pangasinan. Light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be experienced over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Bangsamoro.

Flooding, including flash floods and rain-induced landslides may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards.

Gale-force winds and high (strong to near gale) winds will be experienced in areas under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 and No. 1, respectively. High to gale-force winds due to the northeasterly surface wind flow will also be experienced over the rest of northern Luzon, especially in coastal and mountainous areas.

As of 1 a.m. on Wednsday, the center of Tropical Storm Pepito was estimated based on all available data including those from Benguet Doppler Radar in the vicinity of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya  with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 125 kph and moving West Northwestward at a speed of 20 kph.

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 is raised over the following areas:

• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• Pangasinan
• Ifugao
• Mountain Province
• Benguet
• the southern portion of Isabela (Palanan, San Mariano, Benito Soliven, Naguilian, Gamu, Burgos, San Manuel, Aurora, Cabatuan, Luna, Reina Mercedes, Cauayan City, Dinapigue, San Guillermo, Angadanan, Alicia, San Mateo, Ramon, San Isidro, Echague, San Agustin, Jones, Santiago City, Cordon)
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Aurora
• Nueva Ecija
• Tarlac
• and the northern portion of Zambales (Iba, Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, Santa Cruz, Botolan, Cabangan)

TCWS No. 1 is hoisted over:

• Ilocos Norte
• Kalinga
• Abra
• the rest of Isabela
• the rest of Zambales
• Pampanga
• Bulacan
• Bataan
• Metro Manila
• Rizal
• and the northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta, Real) including Polillo Islands

Gale Warning is in effect over the seaboards of Batanes and Cagayan and the western seaboards of Batangas, Occidental Mindoro (including Lubang Island), and Palawan (including Calamian Islands) due to rough to very rough seas.

The seaboards of areas under TCWS No. 1 and No. 2 will also experience rough to very rough seas. Sea travel is risky over these areas, especially for those using small seacrafts.

Moderate to rough seas will prevail over Palawan and the eastern seaboards of Southern Luzon, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, and Davao Region. Those with small seacrafts are advised to take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea. Inexperienced mariners should avoid navigating in these conditions.

The weather bureau is also monitoring a Tropical Depression outside the PAR that was estimated at 1,825 kilometers East Northeast of Basco, Batanes with maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph and moving east-southeastward at a speed of 15 kph.

This weather disturbance, PAGASA reports, remains less likely to enter the PAR.