A LOW-PRESSURE area outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) has developed into a tropical depression, according to the state weather bureau.
The cyclone was estimated at 610 kilometers (km) west of Iba, Zambales as of 2 p.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in a 4 p.m. report.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 77 kph, moving northwestward at 10 kph, it added.
“No other Low Pressure Areas (LPA) or tropical cyclones are being monitored for Tropical Cyclone Formation.”
Earlier in the day, PAGASA said the tropical depression was unlikely to have any direct impact on the country, even if it entered the PAR.
“We’re also not ruling out the possibility that it might re-enter our Philippine area of responsibility, but even if it does, it won’t have any direct effect on any part of our country,” it said.
The southwest monsoon, which Filipinos call habagat, remained the main weather system seen bringing rain to some parts of the country on Tuesday. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
