It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation spent catching up with family and friends. But as soon as the Strazzere family - who are from Sarasota - landed in Kansas City, they began worrying about their family and friends back home in Florida and what hurricane Matthew will mean for them.
"The east coast, it's like Andrew coming through back in 1992 when that came in. It's something if you haven't experienced it, you wouldn't know," explained Lou.
His wife Gracie is from the Midwest so the pair is in Kansas City to see her family.
Use FlyKCI.com to check on departures and arrivals.
"When you haven't experienced one people sort of get lax and sometimes the stores don't stock all the stuff like generators," said Gracie. "It is scary because sometimes we are without power for days on end."
The Strazzere family made it from Florida to Kansas City before flights from the state started getting delayed or canceled.
As of Thursday afternoon, most flights were still coming in to and leaving out of Kansas City on schedule.
"I think everything will be okay," said Marlon Brown, who was traveling from Kansas City to Atlanta. "I should get to Atlanta around 5 p.m. and then my flight to Albany, Georgia is at 9 p.m. So far still on time."
YIKES: Hurricane Matthew could hit Florida twice
Other passengers weren't so lucky though. Some flights, even those not headed east, were delayed and even canceled due to the category 4 hurricane.
"We are going to LA and this flight is coming from Orlando Florida so we are in a delay right now," said Ken Rick of Smithville, Missouri. He hoped to get out of Kansas City Thursday because the same flight leaving Friday had already been canceled due to the inclement weather.
That's why folks at KCI said anyone coming to the airport either as a passenger or to pick someone up should check flights before they even leave to go the airport.
"It's a good idea to be aware of the weather and where you are going and just like winter time - be aware of the weather and make the changes accordingly so you don't get stuck somewhere," explained Joe McBride with KCI.
The best way to do that is to head to FlyKCI.com to monitor your flights. And if you are supposed to fly but are able delay your travel plans, consider reaching out to the airline to ask to change the flight. Many airlines are waving change fees as we await Hurricane Matthew and its aftermath.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter.
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How Hurricane Matthew could hit Florida twice
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