Several vacationers who were in Jamaica returned to South Florida on Sunday as tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain were felt on the Caribbean island after Hurricane Melissa strengthened into a Category 4 storm.
All flights from Montego Bay to Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport have since been canceled.
NBC6 spoke to several passengers at Miami International Airport who left Montego Bay as conditions became worse.
Demarkis Edwards was in Jamaica with a few friends when he had to leave. He said the weather was fine during his time there.
“Thursday, the weather was fine, Friday, the weather was a little sprinkles here and there, but they shut down the airport at 12 noon,” he said.
Edwards said he originally had a flight scheduled for 4:22 p.m., and he was able to change it to 8:22 a.m. and leave.
He also said all his friends were able to leave the island.
Edward noted that the energy at the airport was calm, and everything went smoothly.
“It was very calm, actually,” he said. “United was kind of hectic, but most of it was pretty calm; everything was pretty organized. The weather wasn’t bad at all, but you can tell it was coming. So we didn’t really have any issues. No nervousness or anything like that.”
Edward did say that he experienced turbulence on his flight back to South Florida.
He told NBC6 that during his time in Jamaica, the locals did express their concerns for the coming storm, and he saw preparations being made.
“At the resort I stayed at, they were strapping up the windows, putting grate tape on the windows, boarding up everything, bringing in the patio furniture, so yeah, they’re preparing as well,” he said.
Edward is happy he was able to leave the island before conditions got worse.
He said he will stay in Miami for a week before returning to his home in Memphis.
For Sherelle and Androwdl Bradley, his birthday celebration was cut short.
“We were there for his birthday, 50th birthday,” Sherelle said.
During their time in Jamaica, Sherelle said the weather was fine and the two enjoyed their stay on the island.
“Last night, the wind picked up a lot, though,” Androwdl said. “About 75- 80 mph winds.”
Androwdl said that the resort where they were staying had sandbags placed on the doors outside.
When asked if they were worried about getting home, the two gave different answers.
Sherelle wasn’t concerned, while Androwdl was.
“We got a notice that our flight was cancelled before they re-booked us on an earlier flight, so we didn’t care, we get another day,” she said.
“I don’t want to be caught in a hurricane,” Androwdl said.
The two were relieved when they made it on the last flight.
Hurricane Melissa is expected to strengthen into a Category 5 hurricane Sunday night.