PAGASA: TD Luis may intensify into tropical storm

Tropical Depression Luis may intensify into a tropical storm as it continues to move north-northwestward over the Philippine Sea, state weather bureau PAGASA said Wednesday.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said the center of Luis was last seen 1,060 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon as of 4 PM.

It is heading north-northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour and has maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 70 km/h.

Luis is forecast to reach the tropical storm category by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. It may further intensify outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) while it moves over the sea east of the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, said PAGASA.

No storm signal was raised over any areas in the country due to the tropical cyclone. It also remains unlikely for Luis to directly affect the country’s weather conditions and coastal waters.

On the forecast track, Luis is expected to continue moving north-northwestward through Thursday early morning before turning generally northward for the rest of the day.

It is expected to exit the northern boundary of the PAR Thursday morning or early afternoon. It will then begin to move northeastward on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, PAGASA said rains may be experienced over the western section of Southern Luzon and the eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao due to the southwest monsoon (Habagat) and the low pressure area east of Mindanao.—Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA News