The Philippine official weather bureau said on Friday that a typhoon was spotted east of northern Luzon and is due to enter the Philippine area of responsibility Friday afternoon, threatening the provinces of northeastern Luzon and Ilocos.

Typhoon Haitang was plotted 1,700 kilometers east of extreme northern Luzon at dawn Friday, the weather bureau PAGASA said in a weather bulletin.

The agency said the typhoon packs maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 170 kilometers per hour. It is moving west at 35 kilometers per hour and is expected to be over the area of northeast Luzon and Ilocos by Friday afternoon.

PAGASA said that provinces in northern Luzon and Ilocos will experience partly cloudy to cloudy weather conditions with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon orevening, while winds will be at from light to moderate blowing level from the southeast.

In Metro Manila, partly cloudy to cloudy weather with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms will be experienced mostly in the afternoon to early evening while winds will be light to moderate blowing from the southeast, said PAGASA.

In other parts of the country, the weather bureau said that Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the intertropical convergence zone affecting the area.

Source: Xinhua