This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday.
A week after Hurricane Helene cut a path of death and destruction across the Southeast, another dangerous storm is heading for the Sunshine State.
Hurricane Milton—now a category-1 storm currently traveling northeast at 6 m.p.h. across the Gulf of Mexico with sustained wind speeds of 80 m.p.h.—is making its way for Florida’s west coast and expected to make landfall midweek as a category-2 or category-3 hurricane.
A category-2 hurricane has wind speeds between 96 and 110 m.p.h.
“Milton is forecast to move north of the Yucatan Peninsula and to move across the Gulf of Mexico and approach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula by midweek,” the 2 p.m. ET advisory from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane center said. “Milton is forecast to rapidly intensify during the next couple of days and become a hurricane later today and a major hurricane on Monday.”
“This is a rapidly developing situation,” said Bob Smerbeck, Accuweather senior meteorologist. “The depth of the warm water is pretty deep so there’s a lot of octane waiting for Milton as it comes across the southern Gulf of Mexico.”
The Department of Transportation requires all airlines to offer customers a refund if their flights are canceled or significantly delayed due to reasons within the airline’s control. But that rule does not pertain to weather-related delays and cancellations.
Tropical Storm Milton: Airline Travel Advisories
In advance of the storm making landfall, major U.S. airlines are issuing travel waivers allowing passengers flying in or out of impacted airports to rebook without paying the fare difference. For consumers looking to change travel plans or recoup travel expenses, much will depend upon the airline, itinerary and, in some cases, whether a travel insurance policy was purchased.
American Airlines has issued a travel alert covering 12 airports in Florida for flights booked before Saturday, October 5. Travelers can rebook without incurring a change or cancellation fee for new flights through Thursday, October 17.
JetBlue Airways has a travel alert covering four airports in Florida for flights booked before Saturday, October 5. Travelers scheduled to fly in or out of any of the impacted airports between Tuesday, October 8, and Thursday, October 10, can rebook without incurring a change or cancellation fee for new flights through Sunday, October 13.
United Airlines has issued a travel alert impacting five Florida airports. Passengers who bought a plane ticket before Friday, October 4, for a flight traveling Monday through Thursday, October 7-10, to, from or through any of the listed airports may rebook without a change fee for travel through Thursday, October 17.
Flying this week? There’s a lot you can do to minimize the chance of getting mired down by a delayed or canceled flight.
Most flight disruptions are caused by weather issues. Up to three days ahead of your flight, you can get a heads-up on potential trouble by referring to NOAA’s National Forecast Map. Hover over Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 to see what to expect for weather today, tomorrow and the next day. It shows you at a glance where there is going to be rain, thunderstorms, and other kinds of severe weather on your travel day.
Arming yourself with this information allows you to switch dates or routes to tee up a better scenario. Perhaps you can travel a day earlier or later, or change a connecting flight to avoid trouble spots.
Even if you’re not traveling through Florida this week, your flight may be impacted. Weather events in one part of the country can cause disruptions throughout the country because airlines reuse planes for multiple flights each day. Planes that get delayed on previous routes often don’t make it to their late-day departure airport on time. For example, a plane stuck in Orlando at 1 p.m. may not make it to Chicago for its 4:15 p.m. departure. There’s a domino effect, where one delay leads to another.
Whenever possible, book the earliest flight of the day to minimize the chance of disruption. Afternoon and evening flights are more likely to be delayed than early-morning flights.
On the day of your flight, monitor your airline’s app for flight notifications. On the flight-tracking app FlightAware, enter your flight information, and click on your specific flight. Then click the “Where is my plane now?” link just under the flight number. You’ll be able to see if the plane is ahead of schedule, on time or behind schedule and you can act accordingly — often even before the airline announces a delay or cancellation.
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