MANILA, Philippines — Signal No. 5 was raised over the northern and eastern portions of Batanes (Itbayat, Basco) while the rest of the province is under Signal No. 4 due to Super Typhoon "Leon," the state-run weather agency said on Thursday.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its 5 a.m. bulletin that Signal No. 3 was up over the northern portion of Babuyan Islands (Babuyan Island and Calayan Island) while Signal No. 2 was hoisted over the rest of Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, the northern portion of Isabela (San Pablo, Maconacon, Divilacan and Palanan), Apayao and Ilocos Norte.

Under Signal No. 1 are the rest of Isabela, Quirino, the northern and central portions of Nueva Vizcaya (Bayombong, Dupax del Norte, Ambaguio, Bagabag, Villaverde, Kayapa, Santa Fe, Kasibu, Aritao, Bambang, Diadi, Dupax del Sur, Quezon and Solano), Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and the northern and central portions of Aurora (Casiguran, Dinalungan, Dipaculao and Dilasag).

Moving northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour (kph), the center of the eye of Leon was some 100 kilometers east-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes while packing maximum sustained winds of 195kph near the center and gustiness of up to 240kph, the state weather bureau said.

Pagasa administrator Nathaniel Servando said violent conditions continued over extreme Northern Luzon as the super typhoon passed close to Batanes.

"But the landfall scenario in Batanes is now becoming less likely," Servando said.

"This super typhoon has reached its peak intensity while passing close to the province," the Pagasa chief added.

Likely to weaken into a typhoon over the next 12 hours, Leon may exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Thursday night or early Friday morning, the latest bulletin said.

Metro Manila, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, and the rest of Luzon would be experiencing scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the trough or extension of the super typhoon.

Meanwhile, the rest of Mindanao and the rest of Visayas will likely have partly cloudy to overcast skies due to localized thunderstorms, the weather agency said.