MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Cyclone "Quedan" has strengthened into a typhoon as it continues to hover the Philippine Sea, the state weather bureau said Friday.
Quedan was last observed at 720 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes and is projected to move north at seven kilometers per hour, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 5 a.m. update.
The typhoon is bearing maximum winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour.
PAGASA said Quedan is expected to be at 600 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes by Saturday evening and outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Sunday evening.
The weather bureau said Quedan is not expected to affect any part of the country.
In its 24-hour public weather forecast, PAGASA said the Bicol region, Palawan, Visayas and Zamboanga peninsula will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rains and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon.