TYPHOON Ramil continued to crawl toward Northern Luzon on Thursday and will likely hit Aparri, Cagayan, on Friday morning.

The typhoon was slightly weakened by two high-pressure areas while moving west southwest on Wednesday night, but the weather bureau said it continued to threaten several Northern Luzon provinces.     

As of 4 p.m. on Thursday Ramil was packing wind strength of 160 kph with gustiness of 195 kph at the center approximately located 180 km east of Aparri, Cagayan.

Gener Quitlong, weather forecaster at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said Northern Luzon will experience stormy weather while Central Luzon will have rains and gusty winds with moderate to rough seas.

Public Storm Warning Signal No. 3 is still up in the Batanes Group, Cagayan, Calayan Island, Babuyan Islands, Apayao and Ilocos Norte.

Kalinga, Isabela, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora remain under Public Storm Signal No. 2 while Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Northern Quezon and Polillo Islands remain under Public Storm Warning Signal No. 1.

Quitlong said that while the typhoon has indeed slightly weakened, it continued to pose a threat to those living in low-lying areas.

He said because the typhoon is moving slowly, approximately 13 kph west southwest, it is expected to affect Northern Luzon in the next two to three days.

“Remember that Pepeng was only 65 kph when it made its landfall, but it stayed over Northern Luzon for three days, thereby severely affecting the area,” he said.

There’s a positive side, though: “Since it weakens and moves slower, people in areas to be hit by the typhoon have time to vacate flood-prone areas,” he said.

The typhoon, he said, may still intensify before making landfall in Aparri.