Typhoon “Marce” is becoming almost stationary, moving westward slowly over the waters east of northern Cagayan on Wednesday afternoon, according to the 5 p.m. bulletin of state weather bureau PAGASA.
Marce packs maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph. The center of its eye was estimated at 295 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan.
Tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) no. 3 was raised in the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan (Santa Ana, Gonzaga).
Meanwhile, Signal No. 2 was hoisted over Batanes, the rest of Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, the northern portion of Isabela (Maconacon, San Pablo, Santa Maria, Divilacan), Apayao, the northern portion of Kalinga (Rizal, Pinukpuk, Balbalan), the northern portion of Abra (Langiden, Bangued, Danglas, Tayum, La Paz, Dolores, Lagayan, San Juan, Lagangilang, Tineg, Lacub, Licuan-Baay, Malibcong), Ilocos Norte, and the northern portion of Ilocos Sur (Sinait, Cabugao, San Juan, Magsingal, Santo Domingo, Bantay, San Ildefonso, San Vicente, Santa Catalina).
Signal No. 1 was also in effect over the rest of Ilocos Sur, La Union, the northwestern portion of Pangasinan (Bani, Bolinao, Anda, City of Alaminos, Agno, Sual), the rest of Abra, the rest of Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, the rest of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and the northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, Baler).
The typhoon may exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Friday evening. It is expected to continue strengthening and may reach its peak intensity on Wednesday before its passage over the Babuyan Channel.
Although slight weakening is expected due to possible interaction with the terrain of mainland Luzon, Marce will remain a typhoon throughout its passage within the PAR.
