Tropical storm “Sudal” gained strength Wednesday as it neared Luzon, with weathermen expecting it to enter Philippine waters late last night or early morning Thursday.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) spotted Sudal in the Pacific Ocean at 1,520 kilometers east of Central Luzon as of 1 p.m. wednesday.

PAGASA said the storm bore maximum sustained winds of 105 kph near the center with gusts of about 135 kph, while moving west northwest at around 30 kph.

Forecasters said Sutil will not affect any part of the country until it enters the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).

PAGASA senior weather forecaster Robert Sawi said there is a high possibility for Sudal to intensify into a typhoon as it gains strength over the seas heading to the country.

Sawi said the international storm follows the North Luzon-Taiwan area track that threatens to hit provinces in Northern Luzon.

Sudal will be named "Santi" when it enters PAR, It will be the 19th tropical cyclone to visit the country for 2009 and the fourth severe weather disturbance in October after Typhoons "Pepeng", "Quedan" and "Ramil."

Earlier, weather forecasters warned that storms and typhoons will start to behave "abnormally erratic" and bring "unusually high amount of rainfall" which can wreak havoc on the country due to climate change.