CLEVELAND — Leslie Porach and her husband, Mike, decided to take a pre-holiday getaway to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a gift to themselves ahead of the hustle and bustle of Christmas, New Year’s Eve and all that goes along with both of them

The couple wanted to make sure she was home in time to spend Christmas with her two teenage children in Litchfield, Ohio, about 10 miles west of Medina. Both children have special needs.

Despite splitting custody with her ex-husband, the three had never missed a Christmas together.

“It was a great trip overall,” Leslie said of the trip until Thursday as they were getting ready to make their way to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

But soon everything changed.

At 12:37 p.m. Thursday, roughly eight hours before they would have made the 2-hour, 57-minute return flight to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), the couple received an email from Spirit Airlines that their flight was on an hour-and-a-half delay.

“No big deal,” Leslie thought at first. That was until 24 minutes later, at 1:01 p.m., that she received a second email notifying them the airline had canceled their flight altogether.

“There was no explanation for the cancellation whatsoever,” Leslie said. “They gave us no other information or alternate suggestions for what to do, other than that we should attempt to find another airline and airport to fly into.”

But by Friday morning, the Porachs were not alone. A powerful winter storm affecting nearly 60% of the United States’ population caused bone-chilling temperatures and blizzard conditions, leading to canceled flights all around the country.

There were nearly 5,800 flight cancellations on Friday, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware. That total includes 71% of the flights heading to Cleveland and 70% of those expected to depart from there.

“The weather is impacting not only us, but airlines across the nation,” said John Goersmeyer, senior media and communications specialist for the Cleveland airport. “Just because you’re flying out of a city that isn’t affected, it doesn’t mean where you’re flying to or where your plane is coming from won’t be impacted.”

Spirit — an ultra-low-cost U.S. carrier headquartered in the Miami metropolitan area — offered the couple a makeup flight, but it wasn’t until Sunday, Christmas Day at 8:30 p.m. They’d arrive back at around midnight, in theory, Leslie said.

“This is a worst-case scenario,” she added, noting that they were also forced to find their own accommodations.

“You wish you could click your heels and be home and you can’t,” she added. “You’re just reaching for straws trying to find some way to get home.”

The Porachs spent Thursday and most of the day Friday scrambling to find a way back. They checked flying to and out of airports in Miami and Melbourne, Fla. They also looked into a rental car, either to drive to another airport — perhaps Nashville or even Louisville — or to make the 18-hour trek back to their home in Northwest Ohio.

Because they didn’t know the full weather situation back home in Cleveland, Leslie felt like she was “flying blind.”

After more than 24 hours of searching, the Porachs landed a flight out of Orlando, Fla., about a three-hour drive north of Fort Lauderdale, on Christmas morning.

While not specifically speaking about the Porach’s experience, Goersmeyer stressed that the situation this holiday weekend emphasized the importance of having a contingency plan in place. 

Airport and airline staff are happy to help work with travelers to find a hotel or other resources when they’re in a pinch, but it shouldn’t get to that point, he said.

“Always plan ahead,” Goersmeyer added. “Try to have a few ideas in mind for alternative plans so you’re not trying to scramble at the last minute to get home.”