PAGASA monitors new potential cyclone off Batanes

With tropical cyclone Onyok now out of Philippine territory for good, state weather forecasters are now tracking a new potential cyclone, a shallow low-pressure area off Batanes province. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said they are not discounting the possibility the SLPA will become a cyclone, even if its present chances of intensifying into one are low. "Meron tayong SLPA, 180 km northeast ng Basco, Batanes. Maliit ang chance na maging bagyong tropical, gayunpaman hindi natin ma-discount ang possibility na maaring malakas kaya natin monitor ang development," PAGASA forecaster Elvie Enriquez said in an interview on dzBB radio Wednesday. (We have an SLPA 180 km northeast of Basco, Batanes. Right now its chances of becoming a cyclone are low but we still cannot discount the possibility it will intensify into a cyclone, so we continue to monitor it.) If the SLPA eventually intensifies into a cyclone, it will be codenamed "Pedring." As for Onyok, which changed course and exited Philippine territory before noon Tuesday, Enriquez said it showed no signs of returning. "Tuloy na (itong) lumabas ng Philippine area of responsibility. Ito ay kumikilos sa islands sa southern part ng Japan (It has exited the Philippine area of responsibility and is moving towards Southern Japan)," she said. PAGASA's 5 a.m. bulletin said that as of 2 a.m., the SLPA was estimated at 180 km northeast of Basco, Batanes. It also said a wind convergence is affecting the Visayas and northern Mindanao. — RSJ, GMA News