The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is not yet ruling out the possibility that typhoon "Bising" (international name: "Surigae") could make landfall over Visayas, a weather forecaster said on Friday afternoon, April 16.
In its report on Friday, PAGASA weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said 'Bising' is moving slowly due to the presence of a ridge of high pressure area (HPA) near the typhoon.
As of 3 p.m. typhoon Bising was at 895 kilometers (km) east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, packing maximum sustained wind of 130 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kph
It is moving west at 15 kph.
"The typhoon is slightly slow-moving because there is a ridge of high pressure area that prevents it from moving fast. This is what we are going to monitor in the coming days because it dictates how typhoon Bising will behave," Ordinario said in Filipino.
By Saturday afternoon, April 17, it is expected that Bising will be at 480 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
By Sunday afternoon, it will be at 295 km east of Catarman, Northern Samar, making its close approach to Eastern Visayas, Ordinario said.
"This is the closest approach of the typhoon to the country's landmass," he added.
By Monday afternoon, Bising is expected to recurve and will be about 285 km east-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes.
Ordinario said Bising will begin to recurve northeast away from the country once the ridge of HPA weakens or breaks.
However, he did not discount the possibility that the ridge of HPA may remain in the typhoon's path and may cause Bising to move more to the west.
"We are not ruling out the possibility that the ridge of high pressure area will not weaken or break, therefore the typhoon may change track and make landfall in the Visayas area,"
As of Friday afternoon, the trough or extension of Bising may bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Eastern Visayas, Caraga, and Davao region.
Ordinario said Bising may still intensify but may maintain its typhoon classification.