Severe tropical storm “Falcon” intensified as it accelerated while moving northward over the West Philippine Sea, the state weather bureau said Sunday.

In its 5pm bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said ''Falcon'' was last seen 1,170 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon and is moving at 20 kilometers per hour.

The southwest monsoon enhanced by “Falcon” is expected to bring occasional to monsoon rains over the western parts of Luzon and Visayas in the next three days, Pagasa said.

“Falcon” had maximum winds of 110 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 135 kilometers per hour.

The severe tropical storm is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Monday evening or early Tuesday morning.

Outside PAR, “Falcon” is forecast to turn west northwestward and pass close to Okinawa Islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago on Tuesday morning before entering the East China Sea. Jaspearl Tan/DMS