Typhoon Jose leaves Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Jose (international name Halong) left the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday but the state weather bureau continued to warn the public against rough seas in Northern and Central Luzon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) spotted Jose at 1,020 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes or at 410 km east of Okinawa, Japan as of 10 a.m. yesterday.

It packed winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph and was forecast to move north at 11 kph.

It was predicted to be at 1,130 km northeast of Itbayat or at 420 km east of Okinawa this morning.

PAGASA said Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, Cagayan, the northern coast of Ilocos Norte, Isabela and Aurora will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms in the next 24 hours.

It said rough to very rough seas are likely to affect these areas, with wave heights expected to reach as high as 3.4 to five meters.

PAGASA said the Ilocos region and the Batanes and Calayan Group of Islands will experience occasional rains until the weekend.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.