'Quedan' maintains strength, slows down

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Storm "Quedan" has maintained its strength as it continues to move over the Philippine Sea, the state weather bureau said Thursday.

In its 11 a.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Quedan was last spotted at 700 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes.

Quedan is bearing maximum sustained winds of 105 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 35 kph.

While the storm maintained its strength, it slightly slowed down as it moves north northwest at 11 kilometers per hour.

PAGASA said Quedan will still not affect any part of the country.

The storm is expected to be at 660 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes by Friday morning and may be outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Sunday morning.

The weather bureau also said Western Visayas and the provinces of Cagayan, Zambales, Bataan and northern Palawan will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.

The rest of the country, including Metro Manila, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.