Hurricane florence - will planes reroute?

[sam_rogers]

I have also posted this on the uk planning forum but thought I'd pop it on here too in case there is someone who knows the answer.
We're flying out next Saturday (15th) which will be right around the time that hurricane florence could make landfall on the east coast which is right in our flight path. Does anyone know if commercial airlines tend to reroute the flights or would our flight potentially get cancelled? I know the exact path of the hurricane isn't definite for the end of next week and it could still curve out to the Atlantic but she does look like she's headed straight for the coast.

 

[Rich M]

Not an expert at all on this but I personally think that unless it is in an area that would prevent the plane from landing or descending on to the airport safely that they would just fly around the hurricane.

 

[sam_rogers]

Not an expert at all on this but I personally think that unless it is in an area that would prevent the plane from landing or descending on to the airport safely that they would just fly around the hurricane.

I'm hoping so! We booked our vacation 18 months ago and life has thrown a lot mine and dh way in that time, I really hope we're not delayed by weather! We're in need of a couple of weeks away

 

[Rich M]

I'm hoping so! We booked our vacation 18 months ago and life has thrown a lot mine and dh way in that time, I really hope we're not delayed by weather! We're in need of a couple of weeks away

Hope you guys have a great trip.

 

[alliecat523]

Typically they will go around it. Just make sure your seatbelt is buckled since you’ll have a bit of turbulence (nothing terrible though).

 

[JimMIA]

I have also posted this on the uk planning forum but thought I'd pop it on here too in case there is someone who knows the answer.
We're flying out next Saturday (15th) which will be right around the time that hurricane florence could make landfall on the east coast which is right in our flight path. Does anyone know if commercial airlines tend to reroute the flights or would our flight potentially get cancelled? I know the exact path of the hurricane isn't definite for the end of next week and it could still curve out to the Atlantic but she does look like she's headed straight for the coast.

Where are you flying from/to? Do you have connecting flights?

Right now, the storm looks like it should hit coastal NC/VA Thursday/Friday, Sept 13th or 14th. But of course that could, and probably will, change between now and then.

Nobody is going to fly you through a hurricane, or even close to it, so don't worry about that. However, they will reposition aircraft away from the storm area, and if you have connecting flights, those flights could be affected.

 

[sam_rogers]

Where are you flying from/to? Do you have connecting flights?

Right now, the storm looks like it should hit coastal NC/VA Thursday/Friday, Sept 13th or 14th. But of course that could, and probably will, change between now and then.

Nobody is going to fly you through a hurricane, or even close to it, so don't worry about that. However, they will reposition aircraft away from the storm area, and if you have connecting flights, those flights could be affected.

We're flying from London, UK so our normal flight path is across the Atlantic to Canada then down the Eastern seaboard to Florida. We have a nonstop flight so luckily no issues with connecting flights.

 

[EscalatorKid]

You should be flying over it. They may alter the route as needed, but it probably won't be drastic.

Different airports where it's going to hit might be shut down.

Buckle up for turbulence, though.

 

[sam_rogers]

Typically they will go around it. Just make sure your seatbelt is buckled since you’ll have a bit of turbulence (nothing terrible though).

Where are you flying from/to? Do you have connecting flights?

Right now, the storm looks like it should hit coastal NC/VA Thursday/Friday, Sept 13th or 14th. But of course that could, and probably will, change between now and then.

Nobody is going to fly you through a hurricane, or even close to it, so don't worry about that. However, they will reposition aircraft away from the storm area, and if you have connecting flights, those flights could be affected.

You should be flying over it. They may alter the route as needed, but it probably won't be drastic.

Different airports where it's going to hit might be shut down.

Buckle up for turbulence, though.

Thanks for your replies everyone, hopefully any disruption will be limited to an extra bit of time added on to our flight.

 

[JimMIA]

We're flying from London, UK so our normal flight path is across the Atlantic to Canada then down the Eastern seaboard to Florida. We have a nonstop flight so luckily no issues with connecting flights.

I took a closer look at Florence and my best guess is that you will have no issues with that system.

Florence is currently a Tropical Storm with winds of about 55 MPH, but is expected to rapidly intensify starting about Monday. By Wednesday, Florence is expected to be a Category 4 hurricane, which means sustained winds in excess of 130 MPH. The projected track of Florence has shifted a little to the left in the last 24 hours, and the current landfall guess is somewhere near to the SC-NC state line on Thursday. Tropical storm force winds are currently expected across a wide area ranging from Charleston, SC to almost the NC-VA state line by late Wednesday.

If that track holds, the storm will move inland and will greatly weaken by the time of your flight. And actually, the weather behind a hurricane that has just passed is often beautiful. Of course, it's a hurricane and they are not supposed to make sense, so all of the above could change greatly in the next couple of days. However, once a system reaches Category 3-4 they are generating their own weather and tend to stay pretty much on track.

Incidentally, your pilot will NOT attempt to fly over a hurricane. While it is technically possible to do so with small storms, many hurricanes reach an altitude of 50,000 feet, which is higher than commercial aircraft can fly. And even if the altitude of the storm is lower, airlines avoid storms because if anything went wrong (engine problem, depressurization, etc), the aircraft would have to descend into the heart of the storm. So don't worry about a bumpy ride -- ain't happening.

 

[JimMIA]

Florence is one of three systems currently in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Helene is no threat.

The system you should be casually watching is Tropical Depression Nine. That is expected to be approaching the Lesser Antilles as a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday. It's way too early to tell where that system is going, but that positioning is where storms which strike Florida come from, so it is possible that this system might affect your WDW stay (REALLY long-shot, at this point).

The current best guess is that TD 9 either continues straight west through the Caribbean toward Central America or recurves out into the mid-Atlantic, but we just have to see what happens with this system.

 

[sam_rogers]

Th

I took a closer look at Florence and my best guess is that you will have no issues with that system.

Florence is currently a Tropical Storm with winds of about 55 MPH, but is expected to rapidly intensify starting about Monday. By Wednesday, Florence is expected to be a Category 4 hurricane, which means sustained winds in excess of 130 MPH. The projected track of Florence has shifted a little to the left in the last 24 hours, and the current landfall guess is somewhere near to the SC-NC state line on Thursday. Tropical storm force winds are currently expected across a wide area ranging from Charleston, SC to almost the NC-VA state line by late Wednesday.

If that track holds, the storm will move inland and will greatly weaken by the time of your flight. And actually, the weather behind a hurricane that has just passed is often beautiful. Of course, it's a hurricane and they are not supposed to make sense, so all of the above could change greatly in the next couple of days. However, once a system reaches Category 3-4 they are generating their own weather and tend to stay pretty much on track.

Incidentally, your pilot will NOT attempt to fly over a hurricane. While it is technically possible to do so with small storms, many hurricanes reach an altitude of 50,000 feet, which is higher than commercial aircraft can fly. And even if the altitude of the storm is lower, airlines avoid storms because if anything went wrong (engine problem, depressurization, etc), the aircraft would have to descend into the heart of the storm. So don't worry about a bumpy ride -- ain't happening.

Thank you, I'm worrying about this storm a bit less after posting on here!

 

[sam_rogers]

Florence is one of three systems currently in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Helene is no threat.

The system you should be casually watching is Tropical Depression Nine. That is expected to be approaching the Lesser Antilles as a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday. It's way too early to tell where that system is going, but that positioning is where storms which strike Florida come from, so it is possible that this system might affect your WDW stay (REALLY long-shot, at this point).

The current best guess is that TD 9 either continues straight west through the Caribbean toward Central America or recurves out into the mid-Atlantic, but we just have to see what happens with this system.

I am keeping an eye on this one too. We have a few non park days scheduled so we could juggle our plans around a little bit if the parks are affected while we're there but fingers crossed that storm will head elsewhere!

 

[MrKnight]

As previously mentioned, as long as the hurricane does not impact the airport that you are landing at then the flight path will simply be re-adjusted to go around the hurricane.

It is way to EARLY to tell if the hurricane will impact the US, keep a close eye on news reports.

 

[JimMIA]

As previously mentioned, as long as the hurricane does not impact the airport that you are landing at then the flight path will simply be re-adjusted to go around the hurricane.

It is way to EARLY to tell if the hurricane will impact the US, keep a close eye on news reports.

I don't think there is any doubt that Hurricane Florence (when she regains hurricane status) will impact the US east coast -- and the impact will be far beyond the specific landfall area.

Airlines will reposition equipment and crews and that will have an effect far beyond the immediate region where the storm hits. You might be flying from St. Louis to Seattle, but if your aircraft is supposed to be coming from Washington DC and it got moved, you may be in for a delay, or even a cancellation due to Florence -- depending on where the storm goes and how the airline adapts to that.

Certainly anyone flying anywhere from the Eastern Seaboard from Wednesday forward next week should be watching both Florence and their reservations.

Also, anyone driving through the coastal states late next week had better be paying attention.

 

[JimMIA]

To give you an idea what I am talking about above, the National Hurricane Center has an amazingly helpful new graphic which shows the earliest "reasonable" arrival of tropical storm force winds. You will note that it shows TS force winds may arrive from roughly Cocoa Beach, FL to DELAWARE by Wednesday evening.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Hope you purchased trip insurance.

 

[sam_rogers]

Hope you purchased trip insurance.

Months ago!

 

[goofy4tink]

And now it looks like she's slowing down a bit and will make landfall sometime on Friday.....I fly into MCO at 11:00am on Sat. Terrific. I'll be watching JB and seeing what they have to say about flight changes. May have to fly on Thursday.

 

[bejohn2]

We've got a 0700 flight Saturday morning out of Baltimore. Keeping our fingers crossed that we'll still be able to fly out......