Hurricane Fiona Update: Storm Expected to Approach Bermuda Late Thursday

One of the first major storms of 2022’s hurricane season continues its march through the Caribbean.

Hurricane Fiona hit Turks and Caicos as a Category 3 Storm on Tuesday, bringing with it heavy rains and causing floods throughout the islands. According to reports, it slammed Grand Turk first, before moving on to the other islands a few hours later.

Just like it did in Puerto Rico (nearly 80% of Puerto Rico remained without power on Tuesday, according to Poweroutage.us, and it might take days to restore the whole island), Fiona caused significant power outages across Turks and Caicos.

Turks & Caicos had issued a shelter-in-place advisor late on Tuesday, warning its residents to stay inside as Fiona approached. According to the Deputy Governor of Turks and Caicos Anya Williams, who spoke during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries so far.

Residents can expect an additional one to three inches of rainfall, adding to the four to seven inches that have already fallen across the island. The NWS said that flooding in some areas still remains possible.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), as of 5 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Fiona was located north of Turks and Caicos, moving north at 8 mph. The NWS expects the storm to turn toward the north-northeast and pick up speed by Thursday, eventually approaching Bermuda late on Thursday.

The storm is a Category 4 Hurricane, but the NWS said that “some fluctuations in intensity possible later tonight and on Thursday.”

As of Wednesday morning, there is a Tropical Storm Watch in effect for Bermuda, which means that “tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.”

Travel Impact
The storm continues to cause flight cancellations in the Caribbean. Almost all of the flights into or out of Turks and Caicos’ Providenciales airport were canceled on Tuesday and another 25% of all Wednesday’s flights were also canceled, according to FlightAware. The airport had closed on Monday in preparation for Fiona’s arrival.

Travelers are encouraged to check with their airline before going to the airport for travel to, or out of, Providenciales.

Puerto Rico’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is reopened and fully operational, with flights back on schedule, Discover Puerto Rico said on Tuesday. Discover Puerto Rico also noted that “major hotels and venues are operating and cruise ports have reopened” as of Tuesday.

“We encourage those currently in Puerto Rico or meeting planners with upcoming group travel plans to contact their Discover Puerto Rico representatives, travel providers, hotels, and/or local business directly,” Discover Puerto Rico said.

Most airlines had proactively issued waivers for travel through the Caribbean because of Fiona’s expected impact. Here’s what remains:

• United Airlines has issued a change fee waiver for travel through Aguadilla and San Juan in Puerto Rico through Sept. 25. Travel can be rebooked through Oct. 2.
• American Airlines’ waiver is effective for most Caribbean airports for travel through Sept. 21. Travel can be rebooked through Sept. 28.

Both JetBlue and Delta Air Lines issued waivers earlier in the week, but both had expired as of Wednesday morning.

Cruise lines also continue to be impacted—several cruise lines have rerouted ships from the Eastern to the Western Caribbean and others have tweaked itineraries to stay out of Fiona’s path. For all those changes, go here.