“Extremely dangerous”: Idalia barrels toward Florida; airports, theme parks post updates

Hurricane Idalia is forcing residents along Florida’s Gulf Coast to evacuate as powerful winds and rain turned streets to rivers and knocked out power along the U.S. state’s western shore early Wednesday (Aug. 30)

Idalia, which attained its hurricane status yesterday, is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm (downgraded from a Category 4, as previously reported) at roughly 8 a.m. today, with maximum sustained winds nearing 125 mph.

The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has labeled Idalia as “extremely dangerous,” saying it will produce “destructive life-threatening winds” and a surge of up to 16 feet as it enters Florida’s Big Bend – a region where the Florida Panhandle transitions to the Florida Peninsula south and east of Tallahassee.

“There is great potential for death and catastrophic devastation,” warned the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, in the Big Bend region, as reported by CNN.

The National Weather Service office in Tallahassee said “locations may be uninhabitable for several weeks or months” because of wind damage.

Hurricane conditions are also expected elsewhere along Florida’s Gulf Coast, and into southern Georgia, where residents can expect “long-duration power outages,” the NHC said.

Damaging winds are also heading to eastern Georgia and southeastern South Carolina, where hurricane warnings are in effect, said the NHC, warning that impacted regions could face flash, urban and moderate flooding, “with considerable impacts,” into Thursday.

Tampa, St. Petersburg and Fort Myers Beach are also feeling the whip of Idalia as ocean water pushes ashore, rain pours down and winds intensify, according to reports.

"If you’re in the path of where the eyewall’s going at this point, you’ve gotta hunker down," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told journalists at morning news conference Wednesday, as reported by the New York Times. “Don’t mess with this storm...It’s going to be a significant, significant impact.”

Airport update

Florida-based airports in the affected regions are on alert, and travellers with flights into select areas can expect disruptions.   

Tampa International Airport (TPA) suspended its commercial operations at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 29) ahead of Idalia to prepare its airfield, terminals and ground equipment ahead of the hurricane’s landfall.  

As of late Tuesday night, TPA announced its plan to open on Wednesday, but warned of possible flight complications.

“To be clear, we plan to be open. However, airline schedules can change in storm situations, so TPA cannot confirm or guarantee specific flight times,” TPA wrote on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.

The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport Terminal building, meanwhile, closed at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The airport, which is in a mandatory evacuation zone, says it plans to reopen at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Orlando International Airport (MCO), which is located in Central Florida, appears to be open, but disruptions may happen. 

"While our airport is open and operational, flight disruptions are expected throughout the day - delays/cancellations & bag delivery delays may occur," MCO wrote on X on Wednesday morning. 

No operational changes have been announced at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), or at Miami International Airport (MIA).

Meanwhile, Air Canada and WestJet have implemented flexible ticketing policies to make it easier on passengers who are impacted by the hurricane.

Click here for the latest from Air Canada, and here for WestJet's instructions.

The Government of Canada, meanwhile, has issued a warning to avoid non-essential travel to the west coast of Florida, from Longboat Key to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay, and on the east coast from the mouth of the St. Mary's River, through Georgia, to South Santee River, South Carolina, due to the hurricane. 

Theme park updates

As of Tuesday afternoon, Disney World, Universal Orlando and other Central Florida attractions remained open.

Yesterday, Disney posted a hurricane update online: "Walt Disney World Resort is currently operating under normal conditions. We are closely monitoring the path of the projected weather as we continue to prioritize the safety of our Guests and Cast Members."

Disney said it will waive change and cancellation fees for most guests with check-in dates of August 28, 2023, through September 4, 2023.

To modify or cancel Disney Resort hotel reservations, visit DisneyWorld.com/Plans.

One Disney-related event that was cancelled on Wednesday due to Idalia was the virtual reveal of its newest cruise ship, the Disney Treasure.

The company announced on its Disney blog: “Due to the approaching hurricane, the grand virtual reveal of the Disney Treasure has been moved to Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. ET. We’ll see you there.”

Universal Orlando, which includes Islands of Adventure, home of Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade; Universal Studios, home of Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley; and the water park Volcano Bay remain open.

According to an update posted on Aug. 29 at 4:30 p.m., Universal’s parks will operate as normal and open at 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 30.

“However, we will not offer our usual Early Park Admission benefit for on-site hotel guests, select Annual Passholders and other select travel trade clients on this day while our teams prepare the parks for opening after the storm,” wrote Universal Orlando on its website. “Our hotels remain operational as they focus on taking care of our guests.”

Hurricane Idalia is the latest in natural disasters this summer, adding to wildfires in Hawaii, Canada and Greece, California’s first tropical storm in 84 years, and flooding in Vermont.

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