PAGASA: New cyclone may enter PHL Wednesday or Thursday

A new tropical storm approaching the Philippines may enter the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday or Thursday, PAGASA said Tuesday night.

 

PAGASA disclosed the assessment on its Twitter account, in response to queries from netizens on when the incoming cyclone will enter Philippine territory.

 

"It is expected to enter PAR by Wednesday or Thursday," it said.

 

Earlier, PAGASA forecasters had indicated the new cyclone, internationally codenamed Bolaven, may enter Philippine territory by Friday, just as Typhoon Igme (Tembin) is expected to exit Philippine territory.

 

But PAGASA forecaster Bernie de Leon said they are not discounting the possibility of both cyclones interacting and be involved in a Fujiwhara Effect.

 

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines the Fujiwhara Effect as the tendency of two nearby tropical cyclones to rotate cyclonically about each other.

 

An article on the Hong Kong Observatory said that in this phenomenon, two tropical cyclones may start to affect each other, with the stronger cyclone likely to dominate the weaker one.  — ELR, GMA News