Tropical Storm Bopha (Pablo) Update #28

Tropical Storm Bopha (Bagyong Pablo) is rapidly weakening over the South China Sea. The storm was last located approximately 120km west of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. Maximum sustained winds are now down to 85kph with gusts of up to 100kph. Bopha is moving east northeastward at 10kph.

As of 5am this morning, PAGASA has kept Public Storm Warning Signals over the following provinces:
Signal #2: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union

Signal #1: Cagayan, Calayan Group of Islands, Babuyan Group of Islands, Batanes Group of Islands, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Mt. Province, Benguet, and Pangasinan.

IR Image from NRLMRY

The combination of high vertical wind shear and dry air has led to the rapid weakening of Bopha last night. As of right now, the low-level center is partially exposed with very little convective activity near the center. In fact, rain hasn't really been a problem for Luzon. There were occasional rains reported last night across Ilocos but they never accumulated into anything significant, thankfully. Laoag and parts of Apayao only got around 10 to 20mm of rain.

Bopha will continue weakening today and could even dissipate later this afternoon. It's low-level center is still intact though and that could still be dangerous for fishermen in the region. Occasional rains are also still a possibility for Ilocos Norte, particularly along the northwestern side of the province. Aside from that, we are not expecting any significant impacts from this storm anymore. Nevertheless, remain alert and continue to check here (more importantly, PAGASA) for the latest on Bopha/Pablo. We'll have another update later this afternoon.
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Issued (2230 UTC) 630am PhT 120912