MANILA (UPDATED) — A low pressure area off northern Luzon has developed into a tropical depression, state weather bureau PAGASA said on Friday. 

PAGASA said the weather disturbance, named Ester, strengthened into a storm at 2 p.m. Friday and was last spotted 840 kilometers east of extreme northern Luzon.

Ester is moving west northwestward at 15 kilometers per hour. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 55 kilometers per hour.

PAGASA said there is no tropical cyclone wind signal currently hoisted for Ester but warned of light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Southern Luzon and the western and eastern portions of Visayas. 

This is due to the combined effects of the habagat or southwest monsoon and Tropical Depression Ester, it explained.

The weather agency also said that the hagabat and Ester will bring moderate to rough seas over the northern and eastern seaboards of the country, adding that this may be risky for those using small seacraft. 

Ester is forecast to move north-northwestward and may exit the Philippine area of responsibility Saturday afternoon, according to PAGASA. It is forecast to remain a tropical depression in the next 36 hours.

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