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This story was updated at 10:10 a.m. ET on Thursday.

Helene—now a Category-2 storm—is heading for Florida’s Gulf Coast and expected to make landfall Thursday as a Category-4 hurricane.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to 100 miles per hour with higher gusts. A category 2 hurricane has wind speeds between 96 and 110 m.p.h.

“Helene is moving toward the north-northeast near 12 m.p.h. This general motion is expected to continued with a significant increase in forward speed during the next 24 hours. On the forecast track, Helene will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today and cross the Florida Big Bend coast this evening or early Friday morning. After landfall, Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday,” the hurricane center’s 8 a.m. ET advisory said.

The Department of Transportation requires all airlines to offer customers a refund if their flights are canceled or significantly delayed due to reasons within the airline’s control. But that rule does not pertain to weather-related delays and cancellations.

On Wednesday, two of Florida’s larger Gulf Coast airports announced temporary closures due to the storm. Tampa International Airport said it would suspend commercial and cargo operations beginning at 2 a.m. on Thursday. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport also announced that its terminal building “will close after the last flight arrives on Wednesday, September 25th” with plans to reopen on Friday. Orlando International Airport is currently open and operational, but may have delays or cancellations.

Hurricane Helene: Airline Travel Advisories

In advance of the storm making landfall, major U.S. airlines are already issuing travel waivers allowing passengers flying in or out of impacted airports to rebook without paying the fare difference. For consumers looking to change travel plans or recoup travel expenses, much will depend upon the airline, itinerary and, in some cases, whether a travel insurance policy was purchased.

American Airlines has two travel alerts. The first covers 16 airports in Florida, three in Cuba, two in Mexico, and one each in Alabama and the Cayman Islands. This alert covers flights in or out of impacted airports Tuesday to Friday, September 24-27, which can be rebooked for flights by Friday, October 4.

A second alert covers 17 airports in the Southeast, spanning Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Passengers ticketed to fly Wednesday through Saturday, September 25-28, in or out of the affected airports, can rebook at no extra charge for travel through Saturday, October 5.

Delta Air Lines has a travel advisory covering 25 airports, including 12 in Florida and six in Georgia. Travelers scheduled to fly through the designated airports Wednesday through Friday, September 25-27, can rebook tickets on flights for travel by Friday, October 4.

United Airlines has issued a travel alert impacting 19 airports, including eight in Florida. Passengers who bought a plane ticket before Monday, September 23 for a flight traveling Tuesday through Friday, September 24-27, to, from or through any of the listed airports may rebook without a change fee for travel through Friday, October 4.

Southwest Airlines’ travel advisory currently covers 20 airports, from Mexico to Florida and other Southern states. Passengers traveling through impacted airports have two weeks to rebook their flights at no charge.

JetBlue Airways has issued a travel alert for six airports in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina. The airline will waive change and cancel fees and fare differences for customers traveling Thursday and Friday, September 26-27. They can rebook for flights leaving no later than Wednesday, October 2.

Frontier Airlines has a travel alert for passengers flying in or out of nine Florida airports on Thursday and Friday, September 26-27.

Breeze Airways has a travel alert that lets passengers flying through six airports in Florida rebook for a different flight within two weeks from the original departure at no charge.

Spirit Airlines has a travel advisory covering flights in or out of four Florida airports between Wednesday and Friday, September 25-27. They can be rebooked for travel by Wednesday, October 2.

Hurricane Helene: How To Avoid Flight Disruptions This Week

Flying this week? There’s a lot passengers can do to minimize the chance of getting mired down by a delayed or canceled flight.

Most flight disruptions are caused by weather issues. Up to three days ahead of your flight, you can get a heads-up on potential trouble by referring to NOAA’s National Forecast Map. Hover over Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 to see what to expect for weather today, tomorrow and the next day. It shows you at a glance where there is going to be rain, thunderstorms, and other kinds of severe weather on your travel day.

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Arming yourself with this information allows you to switch dates or routes to tee up a better scenario. Perhaps you can travel a day earlier or later, or change a connecting flight to avoid trouble spots.

Not traveling through Florida? It’s equally important to understand that weather events in one part of the country can cause disruptions throughout the country because airlines reuse planes for multiple flights each day. Planes that get delayed on previous routes often don’t make it to their late-day departure airport on time. For example, a plane stuck in Orlando at 2 p.m. won’t make it to Chicago for its 5:15 p.m. departure. There’s a domino effect, where one delay leads to another.

As a result, afternoon and evening flights anywhere in the country are more likely to be delayed than early-morning flights. Whenever possible, book the earliest flight of the day to minimize the chance of disruption.