MANILA, Philippines — Severe tropical storm Queenie will exit the Philippine area of responsibility tonigth, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
In its 5 p.m. advisory, PAGASA said Queenie was located 605 kilometers east-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes.
The cyclone was packing winds of 110 kilometers per hour and gusts of 135 kph. It has maintained its strength as it moved northward at 15 kph over the sea east of Taiwan. No wind signal was hoisted in the country.
“This tropical cyclone will likely intensify into a typhoon tonight (Saturday) or tomorrow early morning and will strengthen further while moving over the sea south of Okinawa Islands,” PAGASA said.
Queenie will start weakening by tomorrow, it added. Outside PAR, PAGASA said Queenie will accelerate northeastward towards the sea south of mainland Japan.
Cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms will be experienced due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the Negros Island Region, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Palawan, North Cotabato and Davao Oriental.
The ITCZ will also bring partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms for the rest of Visayas and Mindanao.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.