‘Karen’ now a typhoon; Cloudy Thursday for PH

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Karen (international codename Sanba) has intensified into a typhoon as it continues to move northwest, state weather bureau PAGASA said.

Karen was last spotted 740 km east of Baler, Aurora (15.8°N, 129.5°E) at 4 pm Thursday, September 13, carrying maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 160 km/h.

No public storm warning signal has been raised.

The weather disturbance is forecast to move northwest at 15 km/h, and PAGASA forecasts it to continue moving over the Philippine Sea, not making landfall over the country.

Heavy rainfall (10-20 mm/h) is estimated within the 550 km diameter of the tropical storm.

It is forecast to be located 600 km east of Tuguegarao, Cagayan by Friday morning, and 420 km east of Basco, Batanes by Saturday morning.

As Karen hovers east, a low pressure area was spotted 580 km west of Iba, Zambales (15.0°N, 114.0°E).

Strong to gale force winds are expected to affect the eastern seaboards of Visayas, Mindanao, and central and southern Luzon. Sea conditions in these areas will be rough to very rough, the bureau added.

Small seacraft are advised not to venture out to sea, while larger vessels should watch out for large waves.

The Southwest Monsoon will be enhanced by Karen, bringing rain over western sections of Visayas and Mindanao, the bureau said.

For Thursday, PAGASA forecasts partly cloudy to cloudy skies for Metro Manila, accompanied by light to moderate rain and thunderstorms, and moderate to strong winds coming from the southwest.

Southern Luzon, Bicol, and the Visayas will experience occasional light to moderate rain.

The rest of the country, on the other hand, will have partly cloudy skies with brief rain or thunderstorms.

Moderate to strong winds from the southwest to south will be felt over northern and central Luzon, the bureau said. The rest of the country, meanwhile, will have moderate to strong winds from this southwest to west. – Rappler.com