MANILA, Philippines – Typhoon Chedeng (Guchol) strengthened in the middle of the Philippine Sea before dawn on Saturday, June 10, while the southwest monsoon or habagat was affecting parts of the country.

Chedeng’s maximum sustained winds increased from 130 kilometers per hour to 150 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in its 5 am bulletin on Saturday.

The typhoon’s gustiness is now up to 185 km/h from the previous 160 km/h.

It was last spotted 875 kilometers east of Northern Luzon, slowly moving north northwest and staying far from Philippine landmass.

Given Chedeng’s distance from land, it is not bringing rain to any part of the country and tropical cyclone wind signals are unlikely to be raised.

But the typhoon is still causing moderate to rough seas in the seaboards of extreme Northern Luzon and the eastern seaboard of mainland Northern Luzon. Waves could be 2 to 3.5 meters high.

PAGASA advised small vessels to take precautionary measures.

The weather bureau also noted that Chedeng could enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat, which may bring occasional rain to the western parts of Luzon and the Visayas in the next three days.

In PAGASA’s 4 am daily forecast, it said the following areas would have scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon on Saturday:

• Metro Manila
• Pangasinan
• Zambales
• Bataan
• Cavite
• Batangas
• Occidental Mindoro
• Palawan
• Western Visayas

Floods and landslides are possible during periods of moderate to heavy rain.

The southwest monsoon may also bring gusts, or sudden and strong winds, to these areas:

Saturday, June 10

• Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Zambales, Bataan, Visayas, Camiguin, Dinagat Islands

Sunday, June 11

• Ilocos Region, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Abra, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, Zambales, Bataan, Bulacan, Western Visayas, Northern Samar

Monday, June 12

• Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Bicol, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora, Zambales, Bataan, Bulacan, Marinduque, Romblon, Occidental Mindoro, northern part of Palawan including Calamian, Cuyo, and Kalayaan Islands, Antique, Aklan

Chedeng is projected to move north or north northeast on Saturday, before speeding up northeast toward the sea southeast and east of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands on Sunday, June 11.

It is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility between late Sunday evening or early Monday morning, June 12.

PAGASA added that Chedeng may maintain its strength throughout the weekend before starting to weaken on Monday, but slight intensification on Saturday is not ruled out.

Chedeng is the Philippines’ third tropical cyclone for 2023 and the first for June. PAGASA earlier estimated there would be one or two tropical cyclones during the month.

The weather bureau announced the start of the rainy season on June 2. – Rappler.com