Flights from Lehigh Valley International Airport to Florida canceled ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall

• Flights from Lehigh Valley International Airport to Florida were canceled ahead of Hurricane Idalia's expected landfall Wednesday
• The Category 3 storm is expected to be an "unprecedented event"
• The Lehigh Valley isn't forecast to see impacts from the storm

HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. — Flights from Lehigh Valley International Airport to Florida slated for Wednesday have been canceled ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall.

Two Allegiant flights — an 8 a.m. to Punta Gorda and a 10 a.m. to Orlando/Sanford — have been canceled, according to a Tuesday afternoon update on the airport’s website. Arrivals from both flights were also canceled.

“Travel Alert! Due to Hurricane Idalia, there have been several flight cancelations on Wednesday for our Florida destinations,” noted a post from the Lehigh Valley International Airport's social media account. “Please continue to check with your airline or the airport website for up to the minute changes.”

The storm is projected to make landfall early Wednesday as a Category 3 system with sustained winds of up to 120 mph, according to an Associated Press report. It’s expected to impact the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle bends into the peninsula.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has marked Idalia as “an unprecedented event.”

“Hurricane Idalia will likely be an unprecedented event for many locations in the Florida Big Bend,” according to a message on the weather service’s website. “Looking back through recorded history, NO major hurricanes have ever moved through the Apalachee Bay. When you try to compare this storm to others, DON'T. No one has seen this.”

The commonwealth has already sent aid to Florida, with Philadelphia’s Urban Search and Rescue Team earlier this week heading south on Interstate 95.

Idalia is not expected to cause disruptions in the Lehigh Valley — the National Weather Service in Mount Holly has forecast a chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday morning.

As Idalia’s path arcs from west to east, it’s expected to weaken, according to the service’s forecast discussion. The storm’s remnants aren’t likely to reach the Valley, and “current indications are for it to push back offshore off the coast of the Carolinas later in the day on Thursday, though it may not be in too much of a hurry to do so.”