Tropical Depression Sarah joins Typhoon Ramon inside PAR

Acor Arceo

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Tropical Depression Sarah joins Typhoon Ramon inside PAR
Not one but two tropical cyclones are inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility

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MANILA, Philippines – There are now two tropical cyclones inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR): Typhoon Ramon (Kalmaegi) and Tropical Depression Sarah.

The low pressure area (LPA) inside PAR developed into Tropical Depression Sarah at 2 pm on Tuesday, November 19.

Sarah is the Philippines’ 19th tropical cyclone for 2019, and the 3rd for November. (READ: LIST: PAGASA’s names for tropical cyclones in 2019)

In a briefing at 5 pm on Tuesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Sarah is 710 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes.

The tropical depression is moving northwest at a relatively fast 35 kilometers per hour (km/h).

At the moment, it has maximum winds of 55 km/h and gustiness of up to 70 km/h. It could intensify into a tropical storm within 24 hours, and possibly into a severe tropical storm afterwards.

There are no tropical cyclone wind signals due to Sarah, so far. But it is expected to bring rain starting Wednesday, November 20. Here is PAGASA’s rainfall outlook for the tropical depression:

Wednesday afternoon, November 20

  • Light to moderate rain with intermittent heavy rain
    • eastern part of Cagayan
    • eastern part of Isabela

Thursday, November 21

  • Light to moderate rain with intermittent heavy rain
    • Cagayan
    • Isabela
    • northern part of Aurora
    • Apayao
    • Kalinga
    • Abra

Landfall in the province of Cagayan is possible on Thursday, November 21.

If Sarah maintains its speed and direction, it might leave PAR on Friday, November 22.

Forecast track of Tropical Depression Sarah as of November 19, 2019, 5 pm. Image from PAGASA

Meanwhile, Ramon is still 120 kilometers east of Calayan, Cagayan. It remains almost stationary, hardly moving for most of Tuesday.

 

The typhoon maintained its strength, with maximum winds of 120 km/h and gustiness of up to 165 km/h.

Since Ramon is barely moving, its landfall keeps getting pushed back. It is now expected to make landfall in the Babuyan Group of Islands between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

It is forecast to gradually weaken after hitting land, “due to the land interaction and the northeast monsoon,” said PAGASA.

Tropical cyclone wind signals remain raised over the following areas:

Signal No. 3 (winds of 121 km/h to 170 km/h)

  • northern part of Cagayan (Santa Praxedes, Claveria, Sanchez Mira, Pamplona, Abulug, Ballesteros, Aparri, Calayan, Camalaniugan, Buguey, Santa Teresita, Gonzaga, Santa Ana)

Signal No. 2 (winds of 61 km/h to 120 km/h)

  • rest of Cagayan
  • Batanes
  • Apayao
  • Kalinga
  • Abra
  • lIocos Norte
  • Ilocos Sur

Signal No. 1 (winds of 30 km/h to 60 km/h)

  • northern part of Isabela (Sta Maria, San Pablo, Maconacon, Cabagan, Sto Tomas, Quezon, Delfin Albano, Tumauini, Divilacan, Quirino, Roxas, Mallig, San Manuel, Burgos, Gamu, Ilagan City)
  • Mountain Province
  • Benguet
  • Ifugao
  • La Union
  • Pangasinan

With Ramon lingering, rain will also persist, which may cause flash floods and landslides. Below is PAGASA’s latest rainfall outlook for the typhoon. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

Tuesday evening, November 19

  • Moderate rain with frequent heavy rain
    • Batanes
    • northern part of Cagayan, including Babuyan Group of Islands
    • Apayao
    • northern part of Ilocos Norte
  • Light to moderate rain with intermittent heavy rain
    • northern part of Isabela
    • Kalinga
    • Abra
    • rest of Cagayan
    • Ilocos Sur

Wednesday, November 20

  • Light to moderate rain with occasionally heavy rain
    • Batanes
    • northern part of Cagayan, including Babuyan Group of Islands
    • Apayao
  • Light to moderate rain with intermittent heavy rain
    • Isabela
    • rest of Cagayan
    • northern part of Aurora
    • Kalinga
    • Ilocos Norte

PAGASA also warned there could be storm surges up to 2 meters high in La Union and Pangasinan.

Travel remains risky too, especially for small vessels, in the seaboards of areas under tropical cyclone wind signals as well as the western seaboard of Zambales and Bataan.

Ramon could leave PAR on Thursday. By then, it would have likely weakened into an LPA.

Ramon is the Philippines’ 18th tropical cyclone for 2019, and the 2nd for November.

Forecast track of Typhoon Ramon (Kalmaegi) as of November 19, 2019, 5 pm. Image from PAGASA

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

With Sarah’s arrival, the estimate has been exceeded for the year and also for the month of November.

These had been the projections for the last two months of 2019:

  • November – 1 or 2
  • December – 0 or 1

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

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Acor Arceo

Acor Arceo is the head of copy and editorial standards at Rappler. Trained in both online and TV newsrooms, Acor ensures consistency in editorial standards across all sections and also supervises Rappler’s coverage of disasters.