Wicked winter weather is in the forecast, and this has put a damper on many peoples travel plans.

AAA officials said the best advice is if it is snowing, stay home do not risk it. Plan ahead and be prepared if you have to hit the roads.

“If you are driving, you want to check the forecast at your starting point along your route and your destination so you can be prepared for whatever weather may be there along your route,” said Lynda Lambert, a spokesperson for AAA.

She said travel numbers are back up to pre pandemic levels.

“Having said that, we don’t always deal with these kinds of storms and these kids of issues right around Christmas. So again, you really have to evaluate your individual situation. How far are you going, what is your destination,” the spokesperson continued.

Erie residents have also been preparing for the weather in different ways.

“Just trying to be prepared. Tires are a little bit low and make sure they are topped off if you got to travel anywhere so that is what is going on here. Topping off gas, making sure I’m full enough. I don’t want anything freezing in my lines. If this storm does come in and drop to negative degrees,” said Erie resident Justin Jarrett.

Erie International Airport remains nearly empty. Pilots say the weather in the mid-west has virtually shut down their airport back home.

“We service in and out of Chicago to outlying cities and our flights today were cancelled in and out of O’Hare Airport and we just re-positioned an aircraft here from Charleston West Virginia which was our originating city today and to get our aircraft and crew in position to hopefully start fresh tomorrow,” said Mike Kirkpatrick, a flight captain for Air Wisconsin Airlines.

You can find a link to see what flights are cancelled at Erie International Airport here.

The EMTA has also advised riders to expect delays due to the bad weather, updates can be found on the EMTA website or the myStop app.