Tropical Storm Hagupit is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility by Saturday evening or early Sunday, according to the state weather bureau.
Once inside, the system will be given the local name Caloy and will become the country’s third tropical cyclone for 2026, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
As of Friday morning, the storm was located about 1,615 kilometers east of northeastern Mindanao, still outside the Philippine area.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching up to 90 kph while moving west-northwestward at 20 kph.
The weather bureau said the cyclone was not expected to intensify further and could weaken as it moves closer to the Philippine Sea due to less favorable conditions.
They added that the system might downgrade into a tropical depression or even a low pressure area as it enters the country’s monitoring zone.
Despite this, Hagupit is still expected to bring rain over parts of Southern Luzon and the Visayas beginning Monday until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, warm and humid weather continued to prevail across much of the country due to the easterlies, with isolated afternoon or evening rain showers likely in several areas, while no gale warning has been raised over any seaboard.