Hopefully you’ve got your flashlights, batteries and loads of water because Hurricane Sandy is only getting stronger causing nearly 7,000 flights to get cancelled on the East Coast.

However, most flights are expected to be flying again by late Tuesday.

In the Big Apple, airlines planned ahead and cancelled flights out of three major airports Sunday night and don’t plan to get back up into the air until Tuesday.

According to the USA Today, most airlines are waiving fees for those looking to reschedule their trips.  United Airlines is even giving refunds to travelers whose flights were cancelled or delayed over two hours.  Southwest is another airline offering refunds for cancelled flights.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the hurricane got stronger late Monday Morning. Sandy’s center has winds stretched out as a far as 175 miles.

It’s headed to the New Jersey-Delaware border Monday night.

Right now, it’s a Category 1 that’s going to deliver “gale-force winds.” Believe it or not there is even snow in a part of the storm from North Carolina to New England.

I’m in New York right now and the winds are strong and pressing against the windows with a lot of force and they are only expected to get stiffer.  There are coastal storm surges as high as 11-feet in New York Harbor. New York will also bare a huge brunt of the Sandy storm Monday. The upper floors of high-rise buildings will get stronger winds than those on the ground level. 63-mile-per-hour winds have been recorded at Eatons Neck on Long Island.

Needless to say Hurricane Sandy is serious business, so it is highly recommended that you check with your airline if you’ve got flights planned to the East Coast throughout the next few days.

If you need a contact number of your airline, you can find them on the CheapOair main site, click here.

For more on Hurricane Sandy, what areas are affected and what to be prepared for, click here.

If you don’t have to travel, don’t! Stay safe and indoors.

Source: USA Today,  Wall Street Journal

photo: gsfc