‘Butchoy’ now a typhoon – US weather agency

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – “Butchoy” (international codename Guchol), the second storm that entered the country this year, is now a typhoon, data from the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) showed early Friday, June 15.

The latest advisory of the JTWC upgraded Butchoy from a tropical storm into a typhoon after it registered winds of up to 70 knots per hour or 130 kilometers per hour (kph).

But the Philippines’ weather bureau, PAGASA, still considers the weather disturbance a tropical storm.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, PAGASA last spotted Butchoy 510 kilometers east southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, with maximum sustained winds of 110 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 140 kph.

PAGASA considers a tropical cyclone a typhoon if it carries maximum winds of over 118 kph.

Butchoy slowed further to 15 kph from the previous 20 kph, the weather bureau’s latest bulletin said.

The state weather bureau earlier forecast the storm to miss land, but raised the possibility of it crossing the Visayas.

No public storm warning signals have been raised yet.

State weather forecaster Jun Galang was quoted in reports as saying the bureau was monitoring closely if Butchoy would change its course and make landfall.

Luzon will experience occasional rains brought by the southwest monsoon, while the rest of the country will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms.

Small seacraft are advised to stay ashore as strong winds blowing from the southwest monsoon are expected to bring rough seas. – Rappler.com