Tropical Storm Conson in Philippines, Eyes China, Vietnam
Tropical activity in the West Pacific basin has resurfaced this week, according to meteorologists, as two tropical systems churn through the region.
Tropical Storm Conson, also known as Jolina in the Philippines, was the first of these two tropical entities to form. Any tropical system that enters the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) area of responsibility is given a local name in addition to the internationally recognized one.
Late Monday evening, local time, Conson made the first of several landfalls in the Philippines. This was the first landfall in the Philippines, at Hernani in Eastern Samar. According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA), the tropical regulatory agency for the West Pacific basin, Conson was a severe tropical storm when it first hit the Philippines.
Just as the system made landfall, PAGASA detected significantly greater sustained winds and designated the system a typhoon.At landfall, Conson’s intensity was precisely on the line between a strong tropical storm and a typhoon, according to Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, local time, Conson went on to make three additional landfalls in a span of just four hours. A fifth landfall was confirmed just before noon, local time, on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday evening, local time, Conson was a tropical storm located over Manila Bay, moving to the northwest at 9 mph (15 km/h).Regardless of its official designation, Conson unleashed strong winds and heavy rainfall for the Philippines.
Since Monday, parts of the Eastern Visayas region near where Conson made landfall had gotten 6-12 inches (150-300 mm) of rain. In the same time frame, other parts of the Visayas island group received 4-6 inches (100-150 mm) of rain.Rain will continue to fall throughout parts of the Philippines through midweek as Tropical Storm Conson moves away from the country’s coast.
“Around the storm’s course, widespread rainfall totals of 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) are likely,” the Metrologist added.
While the Philippines is no stranger to severe rains, this level of precipitation is enough to trigger flooding in the area. Low-lying areas can easily get flooded, while higher elevations are vulnerable to mudslides following heavy rain.
The storm’s wind intensity will continue to decline once Conson interacts with land. However, as Conson drags into the Philippines, significant wind gusts of 40-60 mph (70-100 km/h) are still possible, with Local StormMaxTM of 70 mph (115 km/h).
Wind and rain can also churn up the surrounding seas, resulting in severe surf and possibly coastal flooding.According to the Philippine Coast Guard, almost 2,000 passengers and crew members were stuck in ports spanning the Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions on Tuesday afternoon.
The Philippine Coast Guard has halted maritime voyages in regions where storm signals have been issued by PAGASA to protect against tropical storms.
Storm warnings were still in place for parts of the island groups of Southern Luzon, Mindoro, Central Luzon, and Northern Luzon as of Wednesday evening local time. These storm warnings covered the capital city of Manila, which has a population of about 1.75 million people.
reference – Accuweather
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