The low-pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) has developed into a storm and is expected to affect the country within the next days, said state weather bureau.
According to weather specialist Shelly Ignacio of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the tropical depression was located at 1,070 kilometers east of Mindanao as of 4:00 am.
The LPA developed into a tropical depression at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
“Sa ngayon ay nasa labas pa naman ito ng PAR pero inaasahan natin na sa mga susunod na araw ay makakaapekto na ito at lalapit na dito sa may eastern section ng Mindanao,” she said in a forecast on Wednesday.
The weather disturbance is expected to enter PAR in the next 12 to 18 hours; once inside the PAR, it will be named “Auring” as the first tropical cyclone in 2021.
Based on the forecast track, the tropical depression will move westward to west-northwestward over the Philippine Sea east Mindanao.
The tropical depression may make its landfall over the eastern coast of Caraga-Davao region on Saturday or Sunday as a tropical storm.
“Dahil nasa karagatan pa rin siya, nadi-develop pa rin or nagi-gain pa rin ng strength,” she added.
The tropical depression will be at 750 kilometers east of Davao on Thursday morning but the track of the weather disturbance would still adjust, she added.
The region of MIMAROPA will also experience rains while the tropical depression is traversing during weekends to Monday.
Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon or amihan is still affecting the large area of Luzon, while the tail-end of the frontal system affects the eastern section of Visayas and Mindanao.
The Kalayaan islands will experience a temperature level of 25 to 32 degrees Celsius while the city of Puerto Princesa will observe 24 to 31 degrees Celsius throughout the day.
The northern and eastern section of the country will have moderate to rough sea condition, while moderate condition at the western side including the seaboards of Palawan will be observed today.
