FIVE areas in Northern and Central Luzon have been placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 as Tropical Storm Paolo moves closer to landmass, the state weather bureau said Thursday afternoon.
As of 2:00 p.m., Paolo was located 530 kilometers east of Infanta, Quezon, packing maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h near the center, gusts of up to 90 km/h, and a central pressure of 998 hPa.
Areas under Signal No. 2:
- Central and southern portions of Isabela (including Ilagan City, Cauayan City, Santiago City, Palanan, Roxas, Echague, Jones, San Mariano, Dinapigue, Naguilian, Benito Soliven, and surrounding towns)
- Northern portion of Quirino (Maddela, Aglipay, Cabarroguis, Saguday, Diffun)
- Northern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Diadi, Bagabag, Solano, Bayombong, and nearby towns)
- Eastern portion of Mountain Province (Paracelis, Natonin, Barlig)
- Ifugao
- Northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan)
Areas under Signal No. 1:
Cagayan, the rest of Isabela, Quirino, and Nueva Vizcaya; Apayao; Abra; Kalinga; Mountain Province; Benguet; Ilocos Norte; Ilocos Sur; La Union; Pangasinan; northern Zambales; Tarlac; Nueva Ecija; the rest of Aurora; northern Bulacan; northern Pampanga; northern Quezon including Polillo Islands; Camarines Norte; northern Camarines Sur; and Catanduanes.
The state weather bureau said Paolo is forecast to make landfall over southern Isabela or northern Aurora on Friday morning, before crossing Northern Luzon and exiting into the West Philippine Sea later in the day.
The weather bureau added that Paolo is expected to intensify into a severe tropical storm by Thursday night and could further strengthen into a typhoon once it reaches open waters.
It is projected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Saturday morning.