MANILA, Philippines — Tropical cyclone Leon has weakened into a typhoon as it passes close to Orchid Island in southern Taiwan, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Thursday.
Moving northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour (kph), Leon was last spotted 155 kilometers (kms) north of Itbayat, Batanes while packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 215 kph, Pagasa said in its 11 a.m. bulletin.
