MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon “Rolly” continued to intensify ahead of its expected landfall over the Aurora-Quezon area on Sunday evening or early Monday morning, PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. bulletin.
According to the state weather bureau, "Rolly," which was last spotted 1,100 kilometers east of Central Luzon, packs winds of 165 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 205 kilometers per hour (kph).
No storm signal warning is up yet, but PAGASA said it may hoist Signal Number 1 over several provinces in the Bicol region this afternoon.
It also warned that it is likely that Signal Number 3 or 4 would be raised throughout the passage of the typhoon as it is expected to continue intensifying prior to landfall, when its winds would peak at 175 to 185 kph.
The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast on Thursday that Rolly will reach sustained winds of 240.76 kph, thereby reaching super typhoon category on Saturday.
This will occur briefly over open water with Rolly nearing the east of Luzon. It is expected to weaken into a typhoon with winds of 212 kph on Sunday before touching land.
PAGASA said the trough of the typhoon will bring today light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Bicol region, Visayas, Caraga, northern Mindanao, and Zamboanga peninsula.
Further, it is expected to bring heavy to intense rains over northern and central Luzon and Bicol region, especially those along its track, beginning Saturday or Sunday.
PAGASA is also monitoring another tropical storm outside of the country’s jurisdiction, but is less likely to bring severe weather over any part of the country in the next three days.
The state weather bureau forecasts that Tropical Storm “Atsani” will enter Philippine jurisdiction on Sunday or Monday and will be given the local name “Siony.”