Tropical Storm Trami Tracks Toward the Main Island of the Philippines

Tropical storm Trami is approaching the Philippines' largest island and is expected to strengthen before reaching landfall. It might bring severe rain, threatening rice crops.

Trami, also known as Kristine, has peak sustained winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour and severe gale-force winds that extend outward up to 680 kilometers, according to the Philippine Weather Bureau.

The storm is predicted to pass over the Luzon coast late Wednesday or early Thursday morning. The Philippines has shut schools owing to a severe rainfall forecast for areas south of Manila. 

Tropical storm Trami moves toward the Philippines

According to the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, the storm will weaken as it reaches land and interacts with northern Luzon's mountain ranges. 

High sea-surface temperatures and low-to-moderate vertical wind shear will aid the system's re-intensification as it travels over the sea to the west of the Philippines, according to the center.

According to the Philippines' meteorological service, the storm is expected to intensify into a typhoon as it moves over the South China Sea. As stated by the Hong Kong Observatory, it may be monitored around central Vietnam or the southern Chinese coast.