MANILA: Typhoon Rosal (international name: Champi) slightly weakened as it continued to move further away from the Philippines on Friday morning, the state weather bureau said.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in its latest typhoon bulletin, Rosal was last spotted 305 kilometres north-east of Itbayat, Batanes.
As of the latest bulletin, Rosal had maximum sustained wind speeds of 150 kilometres per hour (kph), with gusts of up to 185kph.
“Rosal is forecast to weaken gradually within 24 hours, then it will weaken rapidly afterwards,” Pagasa said.
“It may be downgraded into a severe tropical storm by tomorrow afternoon or evening and is likely to weaken further into a tropical storm by Sunday morning,” it added.
Rosal is forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2, which indicates that winds of more than 62kph and up to 88kph are expected within at least 24 hours, remains in force over Batanes and the north-eastern portion of the Babuyan Islands.
Signal No. 1 remains in force over the rest of the Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Apayao. - Inqurier/ANN
