Pepito intensifies into severe tropical storm as it enters PAR

Tropical cyclone Man-Yi has intensified into a severe tropical storm as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday evening at 8 p.m., the state weather bureau PAGASA said. 

Now that it has entered the country, the tropical cyclone will be named Pepito. It is the 15th storm to enter the country this year.

This developed as Typhoon Ofel is still in the country affecting several areas in northeastern Luzon.

According to PAGASA’s 8 p.m. cyclone bulletin, the center of the typhoon’s eye was last observed over the coastal waters of Santa Teresita, Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph and gustiness of up to 255 kph.

The following areas under Signal No. 4 will experience winds of 118 kph to 184 kph for at least 12 hours:

• Babuyan Islands 
• The northern and eastern portions of mainland Cagayan (Santa Teresita, Ballesteros, Aparri, Camalaniugan, Buguey, Lal-Lo, Allacapan, Gattaran, Baggao, Gonzaga, Santa Ana, Abulug, Pamplona, Sanchez-Mira, Claveria, Santa Praxedes)

Ofel is predicted to pass or make landfall over Babuyan Islands on Thursday night, and may continue a weakening trend throughout the rest of the forecast period.—LDF, GMA Integrated News