As Hurricane Matthew continues its push toward Florida, packing dangerous winds of 140 mph, nearly a dozen airports in the Sunshine State have already shut down, disrupting air travel plans for thousands of people across the nation.
So far, as of the late afternoon on Thursday, 47 flights that were scheduled to leave Newark Liberty International Airport bound for Florida or Georgia have been cancelled, according to a flight information website operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
about 120 Florida-bound flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport have been canceled as of 3 p.m., 11 flights from LaGuardia Airport have been canceled, and 18 flights from Philadelphia International Airport have been scrapped.
All of these airlines have canceled flights out of Newark: Air Canada, Air China, American Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, JetBlue Airways, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandanavian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, TAM Brazilian Airlines, TAP Portugal and United Airlines.
Overall, airlines across the nation scrapped more than 2,800 flights that were scheduled on Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Matthew — the strongest storm to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade — has also forced the early closure of three of Florida's most popular entertainment destinations: Walt Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal Studios.
"based on the most recent forecasts for Hurricane Matthew, Walt Disney World theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, miniature golf courses and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will all be closed today by 5 p.m. and will remain closed through Friday, Oct. 7," an advisory on the Disney World website states.
The Federal Aviation Administration has reported the closure of 10 airports in Florida: Boca Raton Airport, Flager County Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, North Perry Airport in Hollywood, Fla., Kissimmee Gateway Airport, Ormand Beach Municipal Airport, Pompano Beach Airpark, Orlando Sanford International Airport, Witham Field in Martin County and Vero Beach Municipal Airport.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Miami International Airport was still operating, but a weather advisory posted on the airport's website said: "We are monitoring Hurricane Matthew. Generally, airlines don't operate in sustained crosswinds that exceed 35 mph — please expect cancellations on Thursday."
The advisory also notes that the FAA and Miami airport control towers "do not operate in sustained winds of 55 mph," and advises travelers to contact their airline to check on their flight status before going to the airport.
Hurricane Matthew status
On Thursday afternoon, Hurricane Matthew was "relentlessly pounding the Bahamas" and continued moving northwest toward Florida, wher the storm will have "potentially disastrous impacts," the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. advisory.
The center of the storm was about 65 miles south-southeast of Freeport in the Bahamas and about 125 east-southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida.
"Matthew should remain a Category 4 hurricane while it approaches the Florida coast," the hurricane center's advisory said, but the storm could strengthen even more.
Category 4 hurricanes pack sustained winds of 130 mph to 156 mph. The highest level of hurricanes, Category 5, have sustained winds as strong as 157 mph or higher.
New hurricane in Atlantic
A smaller storm in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Nicole, was upgraded to a hurricane Thursday afternoon. Although it is not expected to impact any land, Nicole will likely cause ocean swells and rough surf conditions in Bermuda during the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Nicole, with sustained winds of about 80 mph, was about 345 miles south of Bermuda Nicole and was moving toward the north-northwest at about 7 mph Thursday afternoon. Forecasters said a turn toward the north-northwest is expected later Thursday, and a slow and meandering motion is forecast Thursday night and Friday.
"Some additional strengthening is likely over the next day or so, followed by slow weakening," the hurricane center said in an afternoon advisory.
