Travelers ditch Florida for Philadelphia as Idalia drenches the southeast U.S.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Idalia is now a Tropical Storm, but it made landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.
On Wednesday night, entire communities on Florida's Gulf Coast are flooded. And this storm is still drenching parts of the southeast.
Passengers at Philadelphia International Airport said they're amazed their flight even made it out of Florida. They said they felt lucky they got out just in time.
Baggage claim at PHL was busy as passengers picked up their suitcases after escaping Hurricane Idalia.
RELATED: Hurricane Idalia path and timeline: Maps show where the storm is heading and when
"This morning it was pretty bumpy, but yeah, we just tried to get out before the storm made landfall," said Ellie Creighton, who traveled from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Creighton changed her afternoon flight to morning so she could get to Philadelphia earlier. She says when she left Fort Lauderdale, the weather was deceptively nice.
"It was actually beautiful and sunny, but um, we knew it was coming. We were flying out, so we just wanted to get out before the arms of the storm came around, so yeah, we're thankful," Creighton said.
Jenna Wells from Sicklerville also changed her travel plans. She cut her trip to Atlanta several days short so she could fly home early and beat the storm.
"Oh my gosh! I looked it up and I saw some of the footage happening in Florida and it was really scary, so I was like, we need to make sure we get home," Wells said.
While Florida bore the brunt of the hurricane, the storm also lashed out at Georgia.
Idalia is causing major flight disruptions across the U.S.
"Definitely would have been inconvenient," Wells said. "Don't know how long if we got stuck, it could have interfered with school for my kids coming up and it would have put us out a lot in terms of rental car and all of our arrangements that we had made."
According to FlightAware, more than 150 flights were delayed or canceled Wednesday at PHL, including flights to Jacksonville and Tampa.
"I think it's terrible for those who had to experience the cancellations, but if it's for safety," Patricia Babeghens, of Georgia, said.
These travel disruptions come as we get closer to the busy Labor Day Weekend.
Thursday and Friday are expected to be the busiest days for air travel ahead of the holiday.
