Travel safety tips for winter weather

If you're traveling to colder weather for the holidays, you'll want to plan ahead.

Having moved here from Buffalo, our meteorologist Elyse Smith has some great tips for holiday travelers. Elyse started off by showing off some very lightweight, inexpensive tire grips.

"You can put this right under your tire, say, if you're stuck in a snowbank or something, that's going to give you the grip or traction to get out," she explained.

Elyse has covered her fair share of winter blasts and snowstorms in Buffalo so for travelers headed out by air she says, her best advice is to catch the earliest flight possible.

"Airlines want to get their planes out of whatever is going to have inclement weather, so booking that first flight out is going to be your best shot of getting to where you want to go with fewer delays," she advised.

If you're traveling by car, pack the tire tracks, an ice scraper and plenty of clothes to layer up. There's no need to go out and buy expensive snow pants or a whole new wardrobe. Instead, thermals can be an added insulation layer.

"It's super lightweight but it keeps your body heat close to you and that is so important," Elyse said. "Those you can even fit under denim, and I typically recommend wearing some kind of jean or denim instead of maybe a legging or another thermal."

Be mindful of how you pack the car before hitting the road.

"Even out the weight of your car," Elyse said. "From the heavy engine in the front to heavier things in the back, so if you were to slip on ice or snow, that's going to prevent your car from spinning out."