TD "Caloy" maintains strength, moves slowly —PAGASA

Tropical Depression Caloy maintained its strength while continuing to move slowly over the Philippine sea, PAGASA reported Wednesday.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the state weather bureau said Caloy was last seen 410 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales at 4 p.m. It is slowly moving north northwestward while packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km/h.

It will enhance the prevailing monsoon trough and Southwest Monsoon, triggering monsoon rains over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas.

It will also bring occasionally gusty conditions reaching a strong breeze to near gale in strength over extreme Northern Luzon, and the western sections of Luzon and Visayas and will cause moderate to rough seas over the seaboards of Northern Luzon and the western seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon.

According to PAGASA, Caloy is expected to move generally northwestward slowly from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon before slightly accelerating towards the southern portion of China, where it will make landfall on Saturday, July 2, or Sunday, July 3, 2022. 

It is also forecasted to slowly intensify and develop into a tropical storm by Friday, July 1.

Caloy is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility within 24 hours but may still change due to its “present nature of its circulation, the track and intensity forecast.”—Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA News