Super Typhoon Rosal Peaks off Luzon, Puts Batanes Under Wind Signal
Super Typhoon Rosal, known internationally as Typhoon Champi, was at its peak intensity at 11 a.m. Philippine Standard Time on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, when the Philippines' weather agency, PAGASA, placed Batanes under Wind Signal No. 2 (the second of PAGASA's five wind-signal levels, with No. 5 reserved for sustained winds of 185 km/h or higher), marking the first time Signal No. 2 was raised for Philippine land since the storm entered the region. The agency's Tropical Cyclone Bulletin #5 put the storm's eye 845 kilometers east of Northern Luzon, moving west-northwest at 25 km/h, with maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h near the center and gusts of up to 265 km/h.
Winds of more than 62 km/h and up to 88 km/h may reach Batanes within 24 hours under Signal No. 2. A lower Signal No. 1 is in force for Cagayan, including the Babuyan Islands, the eastern coast of Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Apayao and part of northeastern Catanduanes, where winds of 39 to 61 km/h or intermittent rain are expected within 36 hours.
Rosal, tracked earlier as it passed near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, has since moved into the Philippine Area of Responsibility and intensified to Super Typhoon strength, putting Philippine land under a wind signal for the first time this storm. PAGASA said the storm would begin weakening later on Oct. 21, 2026, becoming a typhoon by Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, and a severe tropical storm by Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.
PAGASA's forecast track has Rosal turning northwest on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, then north-northwest by Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, before recurving northeast by Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. The storm would pass closest to the northern tip of Luzon between Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, and Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, afternoon and exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Friday evening or early Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. PAGASA also posted a Gale Warning over the northern and eastern coasts of Luzon and the eastern coast of Visayas, with wave heights of up to 9.0 meters off the northern and eastern coasts of Batanes and the eastern coast of Babuyan Islands.
