‘Cosme’ no longer threat to RP, moves closer to Japan

MANILA, Philippines - After wreaking havoc in Northern and Central Luzon, tropical storm "Cosme" (international name: Halong) continued to accelerate further away from Philippine territory Tuesday morning. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said "Cosme" packed maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 120 kph. In its final advisory on "Cosme," Pagasa said that as of 4 a.m. Tuesday, "Cosme" was 1,160 kilometers east northeast of Basco, Batanes or 530 km east-southeast of Okinawa, Japan. "Cosme" was moving northeast at 35 kph and was expected to be 1,460 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes or 780 km east southeast of Okinawa, Japan. Meanwhile, Pagasa said Southern Luzon and Western Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening. Moderate to occasionally strong winds blowing from the east and southeast will prevail over Extreme Northern Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, light to moderate winds coming from the southwest will prevail with slight to moderate seas except during thunderstorms. - GMANews.TV