The weather disturbance being tracked outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) has strengthened into a tropical storm, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported early Friday.
As of 2:00 a.m. on April 10, the system — internationally named Sinlaku — was located about 2,740 kilometers east of Northeastern Mindanao.
While it remains outside the PAR, it is within PAGASA’s Tropical Cyclone Information Domain (TCID), the outermost area under its monitoring.
The storm currently packs maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching up to 80 kph, and is moving westward at 10 kph.
PAGASA noted that the system poses minimal immediate concern but will continue to be closely observed.
“Tropical cyclones present inside the TCID are of least concern for the forecasters but are necessary enough for monitoring and public awareness purposes,” the agency said.