Potential Tropical Storm or Hurricane Helene On Track to Hit Caribbean, Florida this Week

A future tropical storm or hurricane is likely headed to Florida, and is expected to impact travel in the Caribbean and along the Florida Gulf Coast through the end of this week.

Tropical Cyclone Nine, which will be named Helene when and if it becomes a major storm, was gathering strength about 120 miles west-southwest of Grand Cayman on Tuesday morning.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) now says the storm is “expected” to shift into a major hurricane before it hits the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday. Those in that area, along with the coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida West Gulf Coast, should prepare for the storm’s arrival.

The center of the storm is forecasted to move across the northwestern Caribbean Sea through Tuesday night, and then over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday.

There’s still some uncertainty with the storm’s track, and over the last six months potential storms have been downgraded before making landfall. Still, the NHC is already issuing hurricane and tropical storm warnings for areas in the likely path, including:

• A Hurricane Watch (hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours) for the Gulf Coast of Florida from Englewood northward and westward to India Pass. That includes the city of Tampa Bay.
• A Tropical Storm Watch (tropical storm conditions possible within 48 hours) for the Gulf Coast of Florida from India Pass to Walton/Bay Couty Line.
• A Tropical Storm Warning (tropical storm conditions expected within 24 to 36 hours) for Grand Cayman, Tulum, and some Cuban provinces.

Airline waivers

Travel waivers are already piling up for Helene, with airlines servicing Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean adding more flexibility to tickets through mid-week.

Air Canada has a flight waiver for Cancun (CUN) for all day on Sept. 24.

Delta has a waiver for more than a dozen airports including Cancun (CUN), Daytona Beach (DAB), Panama City (ECP), Key West (EYW), Havana (HAV), Hilton Head Island (HHH), Jacksonville (JAX), Ft. Myers (RSW), Tampa (TPA), and Fort Walton Beach (VPS). Delta’s waiver runs from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27 and allows ticket holders to rebook for a new flight through Sept. 30.

JetBlue has a waiver for flyers traveling on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 through Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota (SRQ), Savannah (SAV), Tallahassee (TLH), and Tampa (TPA). JetBlue will allow customers to rebok through Oct. 2 without paying extra.

Southwest has a waiver for Cancun (CUN) and Havana (HAV) for travel on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, allowing for changes within 14 days of the original date of travel with no fare differences.

United Airlines has a waiver for travel through Sept. 27 for travel through Panama City (ECP), Key West (EYW), Jacksonville (JAX), Orlando (MCO), Pensacola (PNS), Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). United will waive change fees and fare differences for new flights through Oct. 4.

American Airlines has not issued a waiver yet.