'Luis' maintains strength, gustiness; new LPA to enter PAR soon

MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression Luis maintained its strength and gustiness but will unlikely make any effect on land mass, state weather bureau PAGASA said Thursday afternoon. 

"Luis" was last seen 350 kilometers north northwest of Basco, Batanes still with its maximum strength of 55 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kilometers per hour, according to the 5 p.m. weather bulletin of PAGASA. 

PAGASA said "Luis" will not have any direct effect but the southeast monsoon will continue to prevail particularly on western Luzon. 

The state weather bureau said it is also monitoring a new low pressure area at a distance of 1,430 kilometers east of northern Luzon. The LPA is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility and may develop into another tropical depression with the name "Maymay" in the next 36 hours. 

Meanwhile, Typhoon Cimaron, who was last seen at 1,805 kilometers northeast of northern Luzon as of 3 p.m. of Thursday afternoon, packs with its maximum strength of 130 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 160 kilometers per hour. 

"Cimaron," who is still inside the PAR, is expected to make a landfall in the southern part of Japan in the next few hours. 

The typhoon is set to move north to the land mass of Taiwan in the next two days and is expected to leave the PAR by Sunday morning should it maintain its speed and direction. 

With "Luis" still inside the PAR,  starting Friday, residents of La Union, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Batanes, Babuyan Group of Islands and the Cordillera Administrative Region will experience scattered moderate to heavy rains due to the southwest monsoon.

PAGASA warned that sea travel is also risky in the northern and western seaboards of northern Luzon. — Philstar.com intern Christian de Lano Deiparine