Maymay ‘almost stationary’; 6 Luzon areas under Signal No. 1

Six areas in Luzon remain under Storm Signal No. 1 as Tropical Depression Maymay is seen almost stationary over the Philippine Sea, weather bureau PAGASA said Tuesday.

In its 5 p.m. bulletin,  PAGASA said the center of the eye of the tropical cyclone was last seen 265 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora.

It is moving almost stationary while packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km/h.

Storm Signal no. 1 was raised over the following areas where winds of 39 to 61 kilometers per hour or intermittent rains may be expected in at least 36 hours:

• Isabela
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Aurora
• Nueva Ecija
• Extreme northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar, Infanta) including Pollilo Islands

According to PAGASA, strong winds may also be experienced over the affected areas due to the tropical depression.

A marine gale warning also remains in effect over the seaboards of Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon due to the influence of Maymay and the surge of northeasterly surface wind flow.

These may be risky for those using small seacrafts, the weather bureau said, adding mariners should take precautionary measures when venturing out to sea and, if possible, avoid navigating in these conditions.

PAGASA said Maymay is forecast to move slowly westward or remain almost stationary in the next 12 hours before gradually accelerating westward towards Central Luzon.

On the forecast track, the center of this tropical cyclone may make landfall in the vicinity of Aurora by tomorrow evening or Thursday early morning before it traverses the landmass of Central Luzon. It may be downgraded due to remnant low due to the frictional effect of the landmass.—LDF, GMA News