A tropical cyclone east of Luzon will likely enter the country's area of responsibility on Friday and will be named "Kristine," according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
PAGASA spotted the tropical storm with international name "Haishen" at 2,100 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon, remaining outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) around Wednesday noon.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 115 kph. It is currently moving west-southwest at 20 kph.
Based on its latest forecast track, PAGASA said "Haishen" may gradually turn west-northwestward on Wednesday and Thursday, before turning northwestward on Friday when it is expected to enter the PAR.
The weather bureau also noted that the cyclone may continue to intensify and become a typhoon by Thursday and reach its peak intensity by Saturday.
However, "due to its sheer distance from the Philippine landmass, 'Haishen' is unlikely to directly affect the weather condition in the country over the next five days," PAGASA said.
Within the next 24 hours, the whole country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies but with high probability of isolated rain showers and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon or "habagat" and localized thunderstorms.
PAGASA advised the public to remain vigilant against possible flash floods or landslides in the event of severe thunderstorms.