BY ELLALYN RUIZ
After moving slowly for several days, typhoon “Julian” has accelerated and may exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Before noon Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) estimated the location of the typhoon at 710 kilometers east-northeast of Basco, Batanes, moving north-northwest at 30 kilometers per hour (kph).
Julian remains over the Philippine Sea and stronger with maximum winds of 150 kph and gustiness up to 185 kph. It may reach its peak intensity between Monday night and Tuesday morning, PAGASA said.
The weather disturbance is still not expected to directly impact the country’s weather but it may slightly enhance the southwest monsoon or “habagat.”
Light to moderate with at times heavy monsoon rains may affect the northern portion of Palawan, Calamian and Cuyo Islands, Batanes, and Babuyan Islands.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, while Visayas and Mindanao will experience isolated rain showers.
PAGASA said gale warning remains in effect for the seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands, as sea travel is risky due to rough to very rough seas over these areas.
Meanwhile, moderate to rough seas will be experienced over the seaboards of the rest of Luzon and Visayas due to Julian and the habagat. Those using small boats were advised to take precautionary measures while venturing out to sea in these areas.
Julian is expected to be 830 kms north-northeast of extreme Northern Luzon by Tuesday morning and 1,145 kms north-northeast of extreme Northern Luzon by Wednesday morning.
Improved weather is expected by mid-week over the western sections of Central and Southern Luzon. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with some isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.
