The tropical cyclone with the international name “Nepartak” yesterday intensified into a tropical storm and is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility today.
Once it enters the PAR, Nepartak will have the local name “Butchoy.”
As of 4 a.m. yesterday, weather forecaster Meno Mendoza said Nepartak was spotted 1,995 kilometers east of the Visayas, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph and moving northwest at seven kph.
Nepartak will bring light to moderate rains and may not make landfall and head towards Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the state weather bureau said that a low pressure area was spotted five kilometers east of Sorsogon City and will bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms over the Visayas, Region 4-B, Bicol, Caraga, Davao, and Quezon.
The weather disturbance will bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms over Metro Manila and the rest of the country. (Chito A. Chavez)