Will Tropical Storm Sara Impact Cancun or Florida Travel?

Tropical Storm Sara officially made landfall in northern Honduras on Friday morning, becoming the 19th named storm of a hyperactive 2024 hurricane season.

For travelers heading through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida over the next few days, the question remains whether the storm will impact travel plans. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), which issued its latest forecast Friday morning, the storm is not expected to hit Cancún head-on and is likely to avoid Florida altogether.

The path could change, but as of Friday morning, the NHC expects Sara to move west over the next day or so, turning northwest by late Saturday. The storm is expected to stay close to Honduras through early Saturday, approach Belize’s coast early Sunday, and then move overland into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

The NHC does not anticipate Sara will strike Cancún directly but instead move across land farther south, away from Quintana Roo. However, the center advises those in the Yucatán Peninsula and Belize to continue monitoring the storm’s progress.

Warnings and watches

Here are the updated warnings for Tropical Storm Sara as of Friday morning:

• Tropical Storm Warning (tropical storm conditions expected): Entire northern coast of Honduras, Bay Islands of Honduras, northern coast of Guatemala.

The NHC says Tropical Storm Watches or Warnings will “likely” be issued for Belize sometime on Friday. No advisories have been issued yet for the Yucatán Peninsula.

Flight waivers

Air Canada has issued a waiver for Cancún (CUN) and Tulum (TQO) airports for Nov. 16 and 17. The airline is allowing cancellations without penalty or rebooking within 14 days with no fare difference.

American Airlines has a waiver for travel through Roatán (RTB) from Nov. 14 through 17. The waiver allows for new travel to be booked from Nov. 18 through 21.

Delta Air Lines has a waiver out for travel through Belize City (BZE) and San Pedro Sula (SAP) for travel through Nov. 17. Delta is giving impacted travelers the choice to book for new flights through Nov. 20.

United Airlines has a waiver for travel through four airports—Belize City (BZE), Roatán (RTB), San Pedro Sula (SAP), and Tegucigalpa (XPL)—for all flights Nov. 14 through 18. United is allowing impacted flyers to book new flights through Nov. 25.

WestJet has issued a waiver for travel through Belize City (BZE) on Nov. 16 and 17. Travelers can change their flight to a new one within 60 days without penalty.