In the coming days, meteorologists expect Tropical Storm Idalia to intensify and become a major hurricane before it makes landfall on Florida’s gulf coast, resulting in a number of operational changes to air travel, local events and the state’s famed theme parks.
Tampa International Airport will close all commercial airline traffic at 12:01AM ET on Tuesday. The airport will remain closed until any damages can be assessed, with tentative plans to reopen Thursday morning.
Other large airports like Southwest Florida International near Ft. Myers, as well as the Miami and Orlando international airports have not made any announcements regarding the storm, but are not expected to be in Idalia’s central path.
The following airlines will offer travel waivers for individuals with flights booked for parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas over the next few days: Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit and Sun Country.
Though the storm is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, hundreds of flights involving Florida airports have been preemptively canceled already.
Central Florida’s theme parks will continue to monitor weather conditions, but Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has announced that the park will close on Tuesday at 3PM and remain closed until Thursday.
As of now, LEGOLAND Florida, Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World have not announced any operational changes. Travelers can check each park’s hurricane policy for more information on refundable bookings.
Just as Tropical Storm Hilary’s landfall in Southern California resulted in a number of canceled concerts across the region, events and tourist destinations in the Tampa Bay region will be affected in the coming days.
Cancellations and closures include Tuesday’s $uicideboy$ concert at Amalie Arena, St. Petersburg’s Dalí Museum, the Tampa Museum of Art, and more. Click here for the Tampa Bay Times’ complete list of closures and cancellations.
For consistent updates on Tropical Storm Idalia, please visit the National Hurricane Center website.
Featured image from Pexels.com. Credit: Guilherme Christmann.
