Flying out of Northeast end of week? Get the car ready!

[richmo]

There seems to be a potentially big storm sneaking up on us for later this week. For Philadelphia, I've seen forecasts ranging from a rain event to over 20" of snow. Now thats a wide range!

This one is a little more traditional in that points northeast of Phila (meaning NYC, Boston, Poconos, etc.) may get hit hard, rather than the DC-Baltimore corridor.

The forecast is sketchy enough at this point that I doubt the airlines have put anything official into place, but if you live in the northeast and are planning on heading to Orlando (or anywhere else for that matter) anytime after Wednesday evening thru Friday, you should probably consider your options....one of which would be to move up or cancel flights and get in the car and drive.

Hope this is all a bunch of nothing, but keep your eyes open!

 

[kaytieeldr]

but if you live in the northeast and are planning on heading to Orlando (or anywhere else for that matter) anytime after Wednesday evening thru Friday, you should probably consider your options....one of which would be to move up or cancel flights and get in the car and drive.

Good advice, richmo! Another option for affected travelers is to keep an eye on the respective airlines' websites. As soon as they're SURE of the weather, they'll post travel advisories which usually include the ability to change one's flight in EITHER direction at no cost to the passenger.

Relating to that, the travelers should do some advance checking with employers about additional time off needed, as well as alternate/additional hotel time at the destination.

 

[Uncleromulus]

That huge variance in the Phila forecast just shows how little they really know more than a day or so in advance. How can anyone make plans with a forecast like that??????

 

[ascardino]

I know! I have been watching nervously as we have a flight out on Thursday morning at 6:15am out of Newark. Right now, accuweather's hourly shows cloudy/rain but no snow until the evening. Keeping my fingers crossed that we get out!

 

[richmo]

The thing that worries me about this one is that since the forecast is in such flux, airlines won't make any commitments yet. By the time they do, it may be too late to drive it or move up (and moving back might mean Saturday).

I guess the good news about this storm, if you're driving, is that if you can get to Baltimore by mid-Thursday, you shouldn't hit any more than rain. But, if I was up in Mass. or above, I'd want to get out of there by noon Wednesday, at the latest.

ascardino, again, this may be all about nothing, but I'd be very concerned with your early Thursday AM departure. I would call your airline today and see if you can get out sometime tomorrow. The major outlets are a little slow picking up this storm, but they're getting there. (If that happens, its going to be real hard to rebook) Keep a very close eye!

This from myweatherlive.com, which has done a good job hitting the last two storms:

PHILLY GFS 1.90" NAM .80" SNOW HIGH LOW 8-14" VS. 19-26" RIGHT NOW
NYC GFS 1.47" NAM 1.87" SNOW HIGH LOW 6-10" gfs has mix, NAM snow 18-24"
ABE GFS 1.72" NAM .84" SNOW HIGH LOW 8-16" 17-24" GFS
ACY GFS 1.97" NAM 1.09" SNOW HIGH LOW 18-26" 10-18"
SNOW CHANCES LATE WEEK (WED NIGHT-SATURDAY)
STORM IS A TOTAL MISS..........................10%
STORM BRINGS 1-4" OF SNOW................20%
STORM BRINGS 4-12" OF SNOW..............40%
STORM BRINGS 12"+ OF SNOW...............30%

 

[Missytara]

I am glad to say that living in DE, it looks like we will get the high winds and some precipitation, but not nearly as bad as it looks a bit farther north.

Another option would be rather than going out of PHL, check for flights out of BWI and Dulles, and get to the airport the night before the storm starts.......

Believe it or not, there are also flights out of Salisbury Airport in MD as well. They are smaller planes, and fill up fast, but there are also some limited hotels in the area as well to spend the night.

Good luck everyone. I can tell you in the Northeast, we are pretty much soooooo over winter!

 

[JerseyGirl53]

Just tried to changed my SW flt on Thurs, but it would be double the price. They are not changing flts for free now, even though there is a winter storm alert, etc.

 

[ascardino]

...
ascardino, again, this may be all about nothing, but I'd be very concerned with your early Thursday AM departure. I would call your airline today and see if you can get out sometime tomorrow. The major outlets are a little slow picking up this storm, but they're getting there. (If that happens, its going to be real hard to rebook) Keep a very close eye!

On the phone with Continental right now 15-20 minute wait. I do not think the chances are very good that they will let me make the change now even though they have seats available on several flights on Wednesday evening since as someone else pointed out, they aren't prepared to make a commitment without hitting me over the head with change fees and difference in airfare costs. Then, there's the hotel and car service in Florida to think about.

 

[katallo]

You might have to arrive a little earlier in Baltimore. They just updated that the storm will arrive Wednesday night through Thursday night. Possibly 6+ inches of snow. I guess we will have to wait and see. We still have mounds of snow!

The thing that worries me about this one is that since the forecast is in such flux, airlines won't make any commitments yet. By the time they do, it may be too late to drive it or move up (and moving back might mean Saturday).

I guess the good news about this storm, if you're driving, is that if you can get to Baltimore by mid-Thursday, you shouldn't hit any more than rain. But, if I was up in Mass. or above, I'd want to get out of there by noon Wednesday, at the latest.

ascardino, again, this may be all about nothing, but I'd be very concerned with your early Thursday AM departure. I would call your airline today and see if you can get out sometime tomorrow. The major outlets are a little slow picking up this storm, but they're getting there. (If that happens, its going to be real hard to rebook) Keep a very close eye!

This from myweatherlive.com, which has done a good job hitting the last two storms:

PHILLY GFS 1.90" NAM .80" SNOW HIGH LOW 8-14" VS. 19-26" RIGHT NOW
NYC GFS 1.47" NAM 1.87" SNOW HIGH LOW 6-10" gfs has mix, NAM snow 18-24"
ABE GFS 1.72" NAM .84" SNOW HIGH LOW 8-16" 17-24" GFS
ACY GFS 1.97" NAM 1.09" SNOW HIGH LOW 18-26" 10-18"
SNOW CHANCES LATE WEEK (WED NIGHT-SATURDAY)
STORM IS A TOTAL MISS..........................10%
STORM BRINGS 1-4" OF SNOW................20%
STORM BRINGS 4-12" OF SNOW..............40%
STORM BRINGS 12"+ OF SNOW...............30%

 

[dthogue]

We are watching this storm closely as well, although our flight is out of BWI Saturday morning. Good luck to everyone with the flights on Thursday and Friday - I hope everyone gets to their destinations safely!!

Tammy

 

[Muhlenberg]

We're supposed to fly Thursday morning. I'm going to call SWA tomorrow morning.

 

[bbwhos]

No more snow pleeeeeease! They're reporting us to get 5 or more inches now. May or may not be enough to ground flights.

We leave in 3 weeks so I hope this snow stuff gets out of its system soooon!!

We're using all our 'wishes' for no snow and safe flights for everyone!!

 

[JerseyGirl53]

We're supposed to fly Thursday morning. I'm going to call SWA tomorrow morning.

I was able to change my Thurs afternoon flt on SW to Thurs morning out of Philly. Wed night and afternoon flts are booked. 11:00AM on Wed was open, but DH won't be home from work then. I'm just hoping it won't be too bad early in the AM and we can get out. Good Luck to everyone!

 

[smacky1]

This is on the southwest website right now:


Winter Weather Advisory
Attention Baltimore/Washington, Washington Dulles, Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia, and Long Island/MacArthur Customers traveling on Thursday, February 25.

Southwest Airlines is monitoring a weather system that is located off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic region. At this time, we do not anticipate any flight schedule disruptions; however, based on the forecasted winter weather conditions, our flights to/from Baltimore/Washington, Washington Dulles, Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia, and Long Island/MacArthur could be affected.

We are offering flight reaccommodations without penalty for Customers holding reservations to these Cities for travel on Thursday, February 25.

If you would like to rebook online, please click reschedule your flight. For Customers who did not purchase their ticket via southwest.com, please call us at 1-800-435-9792 for assistance.

 

[smacky1]

Im flying out of Manchester on Thursday afternoon....wonder if the storm will have gotten there yet? Its not one of the cities they are offering free changes for.

 

[alisonlee3]

We fly out of
newark saturday morning. I hope it will be okay by then

 

[kaytieeldr]

Don't even start, smacky1. No, I'm NOT upset with you in any way, I'm aggravated with this afternoon's asinine weather report - something to the effect of, "starting this afternoon, slush in Boston and south, two to four inches of snow north and west of Route 128, two to four inches of snow north and west of Route 495".

Why? Because there's a difference between "two and four inches of snow" and "two and four inches of snow"????? And while I'm ranting... WHAT SNOW???????? There were some wet drops on my windshield when I got out of work after 8 - WELL outside the time of day normally designated as 'afternoon'.

Meteorology: the only career where one can be consistently wrong and still keep one's job

 

[richmo]

I know! I have been watching nervously as we have a flight out on Thursday morning at 6:15am out of Newark. Right now, accuweather's hourly shows cloudy/rain but no snow until the evening. Keeping my fingers crossed that we get out!

You're definitely living on the edge. Assuming you didn't get anywhere with Continental, I'd keep a close eye on their website to see if they go into a weather emergency and see if you can grab something on Wednesday. I'd think they'd want to work with people willing to move up, since if they start canceling flights on Thursday they're going to have to scramble on Friday/Saturday.

If they won't work with you AND the storm looks like its going to hit hard, I'd seriously consider loading up the car and point it down I-95 and keep going. If you don't get out early Thursday, theres a good chance you won't until Saturday. I would think if you could leave in the car by mid afternoon Wednesday, you'd be able to drive to Orlando without too much trouble.

You could also look to see where else Continental flies heading south (maybe Balt, DC or Richmond?) and drive there and fly to MCO.

Hopefully the storm will miss and you won't have to worry about it...but I have my doubts.

 

[Muhlenberg]

I think we're going to bug out TODAY...in some way, shape or form. I am canceling all my evening obligations. Let the vacation begin! Oh wait...I still have to figure out the HOW part of that.

 

[smacky1]

Don't even start, smacky1. No, I'm NOT upset with you in any way, I'm aggravated with this afternoon's asinine weather report - something to the effect of, "starting this afternoon, slush in Boston and south, two to four inches of snow north and west of Route 128, two to four inches of snow north and west of Route 495".

Why? Because there's a difference between "two and four inches of snow" and "two and four inches of snow"????? And while I'm ranting... WHAT SNOW???????? There were some wet drops on my windshield when I got out of work after 8 - WELL outside the time of day normally designated as 'afternoon'.

Meteorology: the only career where one can be consistently wrong and still keep one's job

I understand what you mean. We didnt get anything yesterday and today its all rain so far. Oh well, we are preparing ourselves for a delay and will now be excited if we actually get out on time. We're not going on a cruise so I guess its all just part of the adventure of our vacation. (Im still trying to convince myself of that last part)