Tropical cyclone warning signals were lifted yesterday as severe tropical storm “Sarah” (international name “Fung-Wong”) weakened into a tropical storm while moving away from the country, the State weather bureau said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said Sarah is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility last night or this morning and is expected to gradually weaken while outside the country.
The center of the tropical storm was last spotted 430 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes before noon yesterday, now packing maximum sustained winds of up to 85 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 105 kph.
Sarah slightly decelerated, now moving north-northeast at 15 kph from 20 kph on its way to the East China Sea.
PAGASA weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said the storm warning signal over the province of Batanes has been lifted as the tropical storm is no longer expected to bring significant rainfall activity across the country.
However, PAGASA said partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains or rain showers are expected over the country due to the northeast monsoon or “amihan” and localized thunderstorms.
Ordinario noted that the northeast monsoon may bring cloudy skies with light to moderate rains over Metro Manila, Bicol region, Aurora, Quezon, Rizal, Laguna, and Bulacan.
Gusty conditions may still be experienced over Batanes and Babuyan Islands also due to the surge of amihan, but it is expected to gradually weaken throughout the day. (Alexandria San Juan)