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MANILA, Philippines – Onyok (Mitag) strengthened from a severe tropical storm into a typhoon while still over the Philippine Sea on Sunday evening, September 29.

In a bulletin issued 11 pm on Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Onyok now has maximum winds of 120 kilometers per hour (km/h) from the previous 110 km/h and gustiness of up to 150 km/h from the previous 135 km/h.

It is already 285 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, still moving northwest at 25 km/h. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

Onyok remains unlikely to make landfall in the Philippines. But Signal No. 1 is still up over:

• Batanes
• Babuyan Group of Islands

Signal No. 1 means winds of 30 km/h to 60 km/h are expected.

The trough or extension of the typhoon will also continue to bring scattered light to moderate rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms to Cagayan Valley until Monday evening, September 30.

The rest of the country are not affected by Onyok’s trough and will have generally fair weather on Monday, with just isolated rainshowers.

Travel remains risky, especially for small vessels, in the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon, including those areas under Signal No. 1.

Based on Onyok’s latest forecast track, it could leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday evening.

Onyok is the Philippines’ 15th tropical cyclone for 2019, and the 5th in September. (READ: LIST: PAGASA’s names for tropical cyclones in 2019)

The country gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually, but since 2019 is an El Niño year, only 14 to 18 tropical cyclones are expected.

At most 4 tropical cyclones had been previously forecast for September. Below is the estimated number of tropical cyclones from September to December:

• September – 2 to 4
• October – 2 or 3
• November – 1 or 2
• December – 0 or 1

PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season last June 14. – Rappler.com