Florida declares state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Helene — here's what you need to know

Florida has declared a state of emergency for 41 of the state's 67 counties ahead of Hurricane Helene potentially making landfall as it heads west through the Caribbean.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Tropical Storm Helene is the eighth storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, and state officials are warning visitors and residents alike to prepare before the storm strengthens.

The latest update from The Weather Channels predicts that Tropical Storm Helene will strengthen "into a large, dangerous hurricane before it strikes Florida's Gulf Coast Thursday night."

If you are traveling to a destination that could potentially be affected, here's what you need to know.

Here's where the storm is headed

Tropical storm alerts have been issued for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, western Cuba and Grand Cayman, signaling potential for tropical storm and hurricane conditions within the next 36-48 hours.

Additionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued various storm surge alerts for the Gulf Coast in Florida.

At the time of publication, the storm was about 200 miles southeast of Cozumel, south of Cancun, Mexico.

How to rearrange your trip

If you're headed to one of the aforementioned destinations this week or next, you're likely wondering how this will affect your trip.

Unfortunately, you cannot assume that you will automatically be able to cancel your trip and be reimbursed for this potential storm, according to SquareMouth, which provides comparisons of travel insurance plans from major U.S. providers.

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If your hotel is still open and running, you will still be responsible for paying for your reservation, assuming you did not book a refundable rate. The only situation when a hotel would cancel for you is if an impending storm makes your hotel uninhabitable or if it has no electricity or running water.

Even if your hotel reservation and airline bookings are nonrefundable, it's still worth calling to see if there's any recourse. For example, try contacting your airline to see if you can get an earlier or later flight to your intended destination.

Be sure to monitor your airline's website, as it might offer waivers to change flights for free at affected airports. At the time of writing, American Airlines and United Airlines have issued waivers for travel through Friday.

Can you still buy travel insurance?

Once a tropical storm or hurricane has been named, it's too late to buy travel insurance, which is the case with Helene.

Thus, travel insurance experts recommend purchasing travel insurance coverage when booking a trip, particularly to destinations vulnerable to storms during hurricane season.

Otherwise, it'll likely be too late.

If you procured travel insurance beforehand, know that insurance plans vary in coverage, including whether they offer trip cancellation coverage, trip interruption coverage, trip delay coverage, and baggage loss and delay coverage.

This is also the case for credit cards with trip delay insurance, which may or may not apply to weather events such as hurricanes.

Bottom line

If you act quickly enough, you might be able to salvage some of your travel to Florida this week as Helene creates potential disruption.

Although you are not guaranteed anything beyond the stated terms and conditions of your travel reservations and the credit card you used to book your trip, it can be helpful to contact your airline, hotel or credit card company directly for assistance.

For more helpful tips on navigating travel during hurricane season, read:

• Top travel mistakes to avoid during hurricane season
• Hurricane season is here: TPG's storm guide for travelers
• Cruising during hurricane season: What to know — and should you go?
• Should you get travel insurance if you have credit card protection?
• Is travel insurance worth it?
• Flight canceled or delayed? Here's what to do next