WILLEMSTAD – The Meteorological Department of Curaçao (Meteo) is conducting extra weather balloon measurements this week at the request of the U.S. National Weather Service, the agency announced on its social media channels. 

The request comes in response to Tropical Storm Erin, currently located more than 1,400 kilometers east of the Caribbean islands and with the potential to strengthen into a hurricane. 

Normally, weather balloons are launched twice a day, but this week Meteo is releasing them three times daily to gather additional atmospheric data for the Caribbean region. 

Forecast models suggest that the storm’s center could pass about 230 kilometers north of Sint Maarten on Saturday. Afterward, Erin is expected to move over warmer waters, increasing the likelihood of rapid intensification. Projections indicate that the storm could reach hurricane status this weekend and may even develop into a major hurricane with sustained winds exceeding 178 kilometers per hour. 

While the storm’s core is expected to pass to the north, Sint Maarten, the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are advised to prepare for heavy rainfall, high seas, dangerous rip currents, and tropical-storm-force wind gusts.