Often times here at Escape on a Dime, we refer to an “escape” as a happy vacation to a nice tropical beach. Sometimes however, you just need to escape from a stupid category 5 hurricane with more possible landing sites than a North Korean missile (too soon?).
Irma Spaghetti Model
This hurricane season has been crazy so far and its only half way over. With historic rainfall from Harvey to terrifying power and size from Irma. We have been keenly reminded of the threat of catastrophic damage and loss of life from a hurricane. Now, Jose meanders off the East Coast and Maria rapidly turns into a monster bearing down on Puerto Rico. Having an effective hurricane evacuation plan is paramount: your stuff is important, but not as important as your life.
Effective Hurricane Evacuation Plan Dilemmas
One of the biggest problems with developing a hurricane evacuation plan is the inherent uncertainty that surrounds the projected paths of hurricanes. High pressure systems, the Jet Stream, water temperature and land topography can all impact a hurricanes course. As highlighted by Irma, projections may indicate the worst impact to be in one site for several days, only to shift suddenly and with little warning as the hurricane nears. Anyone in a potential hurricane impact zone knows all too well about checking the “cone of doom” for an impending hurricane’s path.
Furthermore, as it becomes more apparent that you need to evacuate a host of other issues arise. All the flights are gone, everyone else is now on the road so traffic is terrible, gas is in short supply and becoming stranded on the side of the highway is a real concern.
Hurricane Irma traffic
Southwest Points Present a Solution
There is a simple solution that we recently utilized for several members of our family based in Florida. The problem with flights is that by the time you realize you need one to get out, they’re all booked, or cost your first-born child to get a seat. Southwest, however, allows cancellations last-minute with no penalty or loss of funds. If you pay with cash and cancel last-minute, you’ll receive Southwest travel funds that can be used at a later date. Even better, if you book with Southwest points, those points will dump right back into your account if you decide the flight isn’t needed.
Remember, they serve beer on planes!
Best Practice
The trick here is to stay on top of potential tropical systems that could impact you or someone you know and then book early! If there is a chance of the storm impacting where you are, book a one way out-of-town with at least 48 hours before winds are projected to arrive. As the storm gets closer and projections become more concrete, you can evaluate whether you want to take the flight or cancel. If it becomes apparent you will not need the flight, cancel, get your points back and stay vigilant for the future.
Double Your Hurricane Evacuation Plan
By utilizing the Southwest Companion Pass, not only can you bring someone with you when you travel to all the fun places, but also when you need to escape the scary ones. If you don’t know about the companion pass make sure you read this post and learn about the best tool for free travel. In addition, the best opportunity to get the companion pass fast is coming up at the start of October. Once you get the pass (if you follow my directions here) you’ll have it for all of 2018 and 2019 with enough points to escape multiple storms (and take a vacation or two) if need be.
Those People Who Won’t Listen to Reason Until It’s Too Late
Do you have that one friend or family member that refuses to consider an evacuation plan until 160mph winds are blasting them in the face? You know who I’m talking about, the “Oh it won’t hit me.”, “I’ll be fine.”, “It’ll weaken before it gets here.” person. It’s aggravating because most of the time these people are right, but when they’re wrong, they’re dead. You just can’t win.
If you’re worried about someone else in an impact zone you can use your own points to book a flight for them when a hurricane’s cone of doom is zeroing in. Hell, you don’t even have to tell them you got them a flight. Maybe its just for your own peace of mind (and blood pressure) that you know they have a flight out if they need it. If they don’t need it, you cancel, if they do, you’re the hero that somehow managed to score a coveted escape flight when no one else could (being paranoid has its perks from time to time).
Final Thoughts
Remember, if you book with dollars, you’ll get your money back as “Travel Funds” AKA Southwest credit. Also keep in mind that Travel Funds can only be used in the name of the person who the original flight was booked for. If you use points, this isn’t an issue as the points dump right back into your account.
Don’t forget to read this post, and this post for how to obtain the companion pass and a ton of Southwest Points quickly!
Remember to book EARLY so you avoid the demand crunch and rising points/prices on flights.
Make sure you book your flight’s departure date with 48 hours before WINDS arrive, not just the center of the hurricane. Airports will close ahead of the storm. You want to make sure your flight doesn’t get cancelled and your escape plan goes up in flames. To check when winds are projected to arrive follow the NOAA Hurricane Center tracker site.
From this site, you can see the projected paths of all Atlantic storms as well as the “experimental arrival time of winds”. This estimation will help plan your flight times accordingly. A host of other useful information is also available.
Be safe, be smart, don’t play games with your life. Have a good plan, stay ahead of the weather and always be prepared when you really need a flight out.
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