Paolo has intensified into a tropical storm and may further strengthen into a severe tropical storm before making landfall in northern Luzon, the weather bureau said Thursday morning, Oct. 2.
As of 4 a.m., the center of Paolo was estimated at 705 kilometers east of Infanta, Quezon, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, gusts of up to 80 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 20 kph, Pagasa added.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 remains hoisted over several provinces in Northern and Central Luzon, including:
Mainland Cagayan
Isabela
Quirino
Nueva Vizcaya
Apayao
Abra
Kalinga
Mountain Province
Ifugao
Benguet
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
La Union
Pangasinan
The northern portion of Zambales (Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, Santa Cruz)
Tarlac
Nueva Ecija
Aurora
The northern portion of Bulacan (Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Miguel, San Ildefonso)
The northern portion of Pampanga (Magalang, Arayat, Candaba, Mabalacat City)
The northern portion of Quezon (General Nakar), including the Polillo Islands
The northern portion of Catanduanes (Pandan, Bagamanoc, Panganiban, Viga)
Meanwhile, Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Calabarzon, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan are expected to experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms due to the storm’s troughs.
Zambales and Bataan, meanwhile, are forecast to have partly cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms.
On its current path, Paolo is expected to make landfall over Isabela and northern Aurora on Friday morning, Oct. 3, before crossing Northern Luzon and emerging over the West Philippine Sea.
Pagasa said the storm could intensify into a typhoon after crossing land once it reemerges over the sea.
Heavy rainfall outlook
On Oct. 3, heavy rains of over 200 millimeters are expected in Cagayan and Isabela.
Quirino, Aurora, Apayao, Abra, Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan may receive 100-200 mm, while Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, and Bataan are forecast to get 50-100 mm.
By Oct. 4, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan are expected to receive 50-100 mm of rainfall.