by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:36 AM ET, Wed August 28, 2019
Update: August 29, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. ET
Hurricane Dorian is making its way through the Caribbean as a Category 1 storm, but forecasters believe it could make landfall along the Florida coast during the Labor Day holiday weekend as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane.
According to Weather.com, Hurricane Dorian is already packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and moving 13 miles per hour as it rolls into the warmer open waters southeast of the Bahamas.
As a result, airlines serving airports in the Caribbean and Florida are issuing travel advisories, waiving change fees and offering refunds for canceled flights. In addition, cruise lines scheduled to sail through the Caribbean this weekend are being forced to alter itineraries.
For more information about the developing story, check out TravelPulse's updated coverage of Hurricane Dorian's move toward Florida and its impact on travel.
As Tropical Storm Dorian continues to gain strength, it is expected to make landfall in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Wednesday before forming into a hurricane and possibly hitting Florida this weekend.
According to NBC News, the National Hurricane Center revealed Dorian was moving at 13 miles per hour Wednesday morning and was packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour as it passed St. Croix.
While Tropical Storm Dorian will weaken at it passes over the Caribbean islands, it will once again build strength later in the week as it heads toward Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and southern Florida.
Hurricane watches have been posted for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra, while additional tropical storm warnings are in effect for the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic from Isla Saona to Samana.
Forecasters are calling for Dorian to reach wind speeds of about 100 miles per hour when the storm reaches full size and rainfall totals in some areas to reach 4-to-8 inches, with up to 10 inches in isolated regions.
As a result, several top airlines in the United States and the Caribbean have issued travel advisories and are now waiving change fees, including American Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Travelers scheduled to fly through impacted airports will be able to reschedule their flights without being charged. Airports are asking passengers to call their airline before heading to the facilities to make sure their flights aren't delayed or canceled.
In addition, Cruise Critic is also reporting that several itineraries for ships sailing the Caribbean have been altered and Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, was closed ahead of Dorian's arrival.
The cruise line's impacted by the storm's projected path include Carnival Cruise Line (two ships), Disney Cruise Line (one ship) and Royal Caribbean (five ships).
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