Storm ‘Nina’ Now In PH

..MANILA, Philippines - A new tropical cyclone entered the Philippine vicinity Monday morning and was named "Nina" (international name: Prapiroon), the state weather agency said. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) tracked the eye of storm "Nina" at 1,210 kilometers (km) east of Cagayan Monday afternoon. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and with gustiness of up to 120 kph. PAGASA forecaster Bernie de Leon said the storm will move generally westward within the next 24 to 48 hours but will re-curve and assume a west-northwest direction by Wednesday. He noted that "Nina" has a minimal chance of making a landfall if it maintains this track. "There is a high pressure area (HPA) northeast of Nina that affects the current track of the storm. After 48 to 72 hours, the HPA will slightly weaken. A trough will allow the storm to re-curve towards Japan," De Leon explained. "Nina" is forecast to move west slowly at 9 kph within the next 24 hours. Tropical storm "Nina" is expected at 1,070 km east of Cagayan by Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning, it will be at 850 km east of Aparri, Cagayan, and at 760 km east of Calayan Island, Cagayan by Thursday morning. Meanwhile, a low pressure area (LPA) located at 110 km northeast of Virac, Catanduanes will bring occasional light to moderate rains or thunderstorms over Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, and Bicol Region. However, De Leon said the LPA will likely dissipate within 12 to 24 hours. He also said Palawan and Visayas will experience occasional light to moderate rains or thunderstorms due to the prevailing intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, and Mindanao will have relatively good weather condition, except for some isolated rains due to thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening, De Leon added. He also said a northeasterly windflow or hanging amihan will prevail over Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Metro Manila. He clarified, however, that the northeast monsoon will not be the prevailing weather system yet. "We are still entering the transition from southwest monsoon (Habagat) to northeast monsoon, but by the end of this month or early November, amihan will become the prevailing weather system," De Leon explained. ..