MANILA, Philippines — Severe Tropical Storm Cempaka (internationally named) is projected to briefly enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) between Sunday evening, November 8, or Monday morning, November 9, but poses no direct threat of landfall or severe weather impact to the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
As of 8 a.m. Sunday, Cempaka was spotted 1,740 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon, tracking westward at 25 kilometers per hour. Once inside the PAR boundary, the storm will be locally named “Samuel”.
PAGASA weather specialist Obet Badrina noted that the system will merely graze the northeastern periphery and is expected to stay within the country’s weather zone for only about 24 hours before exiting by Tuesday, November 10.
“Hindi naman ito direktang makakaapekto sa ating bansa lalo’t gigilid lamang ito sa may northeastern boundary ng PAR,” Badrina said.
Although the system may further intensify into a typhoon while tracking near the boundary, meteorologists reiterated that it will not bring direct disturbances to the archipelago.
Meanwhile, localized weather systems—including the northeast monsoon (amihan), easterlies, and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)—will continue to prevail across various parts of the country.
“So in the next few days po patuloy pa ring iiral itong northeast monsoon partikular na sa Luzon. Habang easterlies, at sa mga susunod na araw maaaring Intertropical Convergence Zone, ang magdadala ng mga mauulap na kalangitan this week sa ilang bahagi ng Visayas at ng Mindanao,” Badrina explained.
Over the next 24 hours, warm winds from the Pacific known as the easterlies will bring cloudy skies, scattered rain showers, and thunderstorms to the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Quezon, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, and Davao Oriental.
At the same time, the amihan will generate light rains over Cagayan, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, with isolated light rains anticipated across the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and the remainder of the Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience generally partly cloudy to cloudy skies punctuated by localized rain showers or thunderstorms.