By: Pauline Ritchel Ramos
Photo courtesy of RAPPLER
Super Typhoon Ofel (international name: Usagi) weakens after making landfall over Luzon’s landmass, while Tropical Storm Man-Yi gains strength outside PAR, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported on Thursday, Nov. 14.
As of 2 p.m., PAGASA reported that Ofel was located approximately over the coastal waters of Baggao, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds reaching 165 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 275 kph.
Ofel is expected to continue its northwest trajectory across the northeastern part of mainland Luzon, projected to either pass near or make landfall in the Babuyan Islands vicinity on Thursday night.
By Nov. 15, Friday, Ofel is forecasted to travel northward over the waters west of Batanes, and then move northeastward over the sea east of Taiwan by the weekend.
Ofel has begun weakening due to increased interaction with Luzon's landmass. It is anticipated to continue losing strength throughout the period, affected by the frictional impact of land and the increasingly unfavorable conditions over the Luzon Strait and east of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, PAGASA issued an alert as Tropical Storm MAN-YI intensified further on Thursday morning as it approached PAR and is anticipated to enter Thursday evening.
According to PAGASA's advisory, MAN-YI will have the local name “Pepito” upon its entry into PAR. The storm currently exhibits maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour near its center, with gusts reaching up to 105 kilometers per hour.
It was last tracked 1,375 kilometers east of Northeastern Mindanao, progressing west-southwest at 25 kilometers per hour.
PAGASA has also warned that Man-Yi could bring potentially hazardous sea conditions along the country's eastern seaboard starting late Friday or by Saturday, Nov. 16.