Super Typhoon Rosal slightly strengthens over Philippine Sea - Rappler

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ROSAL. Satellite image of Super Typhoon Rosal (Champi) as of October 20, 2026, 4 pm.

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MANILA, Philippines – Super Typhoon Rosal (Champi) slightly intensified over the Philippine Sea on Tuesday afternoon, October 20, with its maximum sustained winds again reaching 195 kilometers per hour from the previous 185 km/h.

The super typhoon’s gustiness also increased from 230 km/h to 240 km/h, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in its 5 pm bulletin on Tuesday.

Rosal was last spotted 1,270 kilometers east of Central Luzon at 4 pm, still moving west northwest at 25 km/h. It had entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) at 10:40 am.

The super typhoon is not expected to make landfall in the Philippines, but it will still affect parts of the country due to its size and intensity. It will be closest to extreme Northern Luzon from Thursday, October 22, to Friday, October 23.

On Tuesday evening, Rosal’s trough or extension may cause scattered rain and thunderstorms in more areas, with the latest forecast now covering the entire regions of Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

For now, Batanes, along with Ilocos Norte and Babuyan Islands, will just have isolated light rain due to the northeasterly windflow.

Meanwhile, more areas were placed under Signal No. 1 as of 5 pm on Tuesday, which means they should prepare for strong winds from the super typhoon:

The highest possible tropical cyclone wind signal due to Rosal is Signal No. 2 or 3.

Seaboards affected by Rosal will gradually see worsening conditions. Here is PAGASA’s updated forecast for the next 24 hours:

PAGASA said Rosal will move generally west northwest until Wednesday, October 21, before heading generally northwest until Friday morning. Afterwards, it may turn north northwest to north starting Friday afternoon, until it leaves PAR by Friday evening or early Saturday morning, October 24.

The weather bureau also sees possible intensification in the coming hours as Rosal moves over the Philippine Sea, but it could weaken into a typhoon on Thursday evening or early Friday morning.

Rosal is the Philippines’ 18th tropical cyclone for 2026, and the first for October. PAGASA earlier estimated the country may have one or two tropical cyclones during the month.

The Philippines is currently in a transition period to the northeast monsoon or amihan, following the end of the southwest monsoon or habagat, which was announced last October 5.

The northeast monsoon typically brings surges of cold temperatures, but the upcoming amihan period could be warmer as the existing strong El Niño in the tropical Pacific Ocean is predicted to become very strong in the fourth quarter of 2026. – Rappler.com