Typhoon Noul continued to move steadily toward the west-northwest on Friday and it is approaching the northeastern Philippines.  At 3:00 pm. EDT on Friday the center of Typhoon Noul was located near latitude 13.9°N and longitude 127.0°E which put it about 300 miles east of Labo and about 480 miles east-southeast of Tuguegarao in the Philippines.  Noul was moving toward the west-northwest at 14 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 120 m.p.h. and there were gusts to 150 m.p.h.  The minimum surface pressure was 944 mb.  Noul is the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Noul is being steered to the west-northwest by a subtropical ridge located northeast of it.  As Noul nears the western end of the ridge, it is expected to begin to move more toward the northwest.  As Noul approaches the northeastern coast of Luzon, an upper level trough to the west is expected to turn it more toward the north.  The timing of the turn is still uncertain which makes the track forecast more difficult.  On its projected track Noul would approach northeastern Luzon in about 30 hours.

Noul is over Sea Surface Temperatures near 29°C and there is not much vertical wind shear.  However, there are fewer thunderstorms in the northwestern portion of the circulation and the could be some drier air in that region.  The environment is favorable for intensification but large changes in Noul’s intensity are not expected.  Noul is expected to be a significant typhoon when it approaches Luzon and it could bring strong winds and locally heavy rain to that region.  The heavy rain could lead to mudslides in areas where the slopes are steeper.