‘Katring’ nears Luzon but may move away Wednesday

Tropical storm "Katring" (Chaba) moved closer to Northern Luzon Monday afternoon but may start moving away from the Philippines as early as Tuesday. As of 2 p.m. Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said "Katring" was at 770 km east of Northern Luzon. PAGASA's 5 p.m. bulletin said "Katring" packed maximum winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph and is forecast to move north-northwest at 11 kph. "Southern and Central Luzon and Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms," it said. But the Japan Meteorological Agency indicated "Katring" may start moving away from Luzon as early as Tuesday afternoon. JMA's 5 p.m. update indicated "Katring" may eventually move north then northeast, away from Philippine territory. Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to strong winds blowing from the north to northwest will prevail over Northern and Eastern Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Light to moderate winds blowing from the north to northwest over the rest of Luzon and coming from the southeast to southwest over the rest of the country with slight to moderate seas. - KBK, GMANews.TV