Severe Tropical Storm Pepito to exit PAR; LPA may enter by Friday

Severe Tropical Storm Pepito is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility between Thursday morning and afternoon.

As of Thursday morning, Pepito was located 380 kilometers west of Dagupan City, Pangasinan, with maximum sustained winds of 100 kph and gusts up to 125 kph.

It will then move westward and accelerate towards Vietnam, potentially intensifying to typhoon category within 48 hours.

Despite Pepito's exit, a new low pressure area east of Mindanao may enter the PAR by Friday and could develop into tropical depression Quinta over the weekend.

Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, and Western Visayas will still experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to Pepito's trough.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized thunderstorms.

Flash floods or landslides may occur in these areas due to scattered light to moderate rains or severe thunderstorms.

High to gale-force winds are expected over Northern and Central Luzon, particularly in the western portions of these areas, due to the enhanced southwest monsoon.