‘Katring’ intensifies, moves closer to N. Luzon

Tropical cyclone "Katring" intensified into a tropical storm as it moved closer to Northern Luzon Sunday afternoon. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said "Katring" was 960 east-southeast of Northern Luzon as of 4 p.m. "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," PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. Some provinces in North Luzon, particularly Cagayan and Isabela, are still recovering from the devastation caused by typhoon "Juan," which hit the region last weekend. It said "Katring" packed maximum winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph, and is forecast to move north-northwest at 7 kph. PAGASA said moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over northern and western sections of Northern Luzon. Coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, it added. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate winds coming from the southeast to southwest with slight to moderate seas. Meanwhile, PAGASA's extended forecast indicated cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms for major cities including Metro Manila on Monday. On Monday, Filipinos are to go out and vote for officials of barangays (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth councils). - KBK, GMANews.TV