Ofel continues to weaken as it moves over sea west of Taiwan

Tropical Storm Ofel (international name: Usagi) continued to weaken while moving northeastward over the sea west of Taiwan, PAGASA said Saturday.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, PAGASA said Tropical Storm Ofel is not expected to bring significant rainfall in any part of the country.

No Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal was raised in the advisory.

However, up to moderate seas are expected over the following coastal waters:

• Up to 2.5 m: The seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands
• Up to 2.0 m: The northern seaboards of mainland Cagayan and Ilocos Norte

TS Ofel is forecast to move northeastward on Saturday, traversing southern Taiwan and emerging over the sea east of Taiwan by Sunday (17 November) early morning.

Ofel is also forecast to further weaken due to the increasingly unfavorable environment and interaction with the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. It may become a remnant low pressure area within 24 hours.

The center of Tropical Storm Ofel was estimated based on all available data at 225 km Northwest of Itbayat, Batanes (22.2 °N, 120.3 °E ).

Moving northeastward 10 kph, TS Ofel has maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph. —VAL, GMA Integrated News