
The low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) has intensified into a tropical depression, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
As of 4 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, the state weather bureau said the tropical depression was spotted 1,630 kilometers (km) east of Central Luzon.
It packed a maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, with gustiness up to 55 kph, while moving northwestward at 15 kph.
The agency said the tropical depression is forecast to enter the PAR on Thursday morning or afternoon.
“Once inside the PAR, the domestic name ‘Isang’ will be assigned to this tropical cyclone,” PAGASA said in an advisory, adding that the weather disturbance is unlikely to directly affect the weather condition in the country.
On the forecast track, the tropical depression is forecast to remain far from the archipelago and is expected to follow a generally northwestward heading, the agency said.
The weather system will likely remain a weak tropical depression and may degenerate into a low pressure area by Monday, it added.
State meteorologists said Metro Manila and the rest of the country may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to the easterlies.