Plow You Doin’? Catch My Drift? Meet the funny-named plows scraping snow coast to coast

Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY
·3 min read

There’s Dolly Plowtown. Beyonsleigh. Saline Dion and Taylor Drift. Watch out for Clark W. Blizzwald, Han Snowlo, and Darth Blader.

Put down that novel – F. Salt Fitzgerald might be roaming a street near you this winter.

As snow blankets much of the United States, plows and salt trucks with cheeky names are gearing up to pick up the mess from Massachusetts to Nebraska, Arlington, Va. to Wichita, Kan.

Call it a winter craze sweeping the nation. Literally.

Traffic on the Massachusetts Turnpike was backed up early Friday afternoon. The photo shows vehicles stopped on the westbound side and a plow, headed west, on the eastbound side.
Traffic on the Massachusetts Turnpike was backed up early Friday afternoon. The photo shows vehicles stopped on the westbound side and a plow, headed west, on the eastbound side.

In the past few years, cities and states across the country have begun holding naming contests for snowplows and other winter weather vehicles. The goal: add some levity to stressful storms, promote safe driving and shed light on the work of emergency response crews.

“We thought it would be a fun engaging way to connect and engage with Connecticut residents and commuters – all in the name of safety,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesperson Josh Morgan. “It is a reminder to them to not crash into us, to keep it easy and slow down on the roads.”

Connecticut has hosted a naming contest for its residents for the past three years, Morgan said. Last year, the state’s Department of Transportation partnered with 40 local schools for the contest to teach young children how to safely navigate around plows.

Some of the winning entries included SnowBob Plowpants, Up2 Snow Good and Fast & Flurryous. Morgan expects this year’s winning names to be released by Jan. 24.

A PennDOT plow truck heads west while clearing snow on Route 5 in Girard Township on Jan. 16, 2025.
A PennDOT plow truck heads west while clearing snow on Route 5 in Girard Township on Jan. 16, 2025.

A new tradition

The quirk of naming snowplows isn’t unique to the United States. The trend appears to have begun in Scotland. Traffic Scotland's website the origins back to a 2006 naming contest for “gritters,” what they call plows, among school children in the country.

But Ryan Gilbert, a spokesperson for the national transportation agency, Transport Scotland, said the country didn’t officially launch its national contest until 2016. It was designed to bring attention to Scotland’s “Gritter Tracker,” which allows people to follow plows’ progress and see what roads around them have been treated.

Scotland’s Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop visited the Burghmuir gritter depot in West Lothian to see “Scotland’s Bravest Gritter," a vehicle named by Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company.
Scotland’s Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop visited the Burghmuir gritter depot in West Lothian to see “Scotland’s Bravest Gritter," a vehicle named by Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company.

Today, the country’s entire fleet of 240 Gritters have all been lovingly named by citizens through local radio, newspaper and school contests. The names range from pop culture icons to snow puns.

Creativity knows no bounds – so the agency had to set some. Titles need to be less than 25 characters long, or under four words. Inappropriate entries and ones with swear words are not accepted.

This year’s fleet includes Mr. Snow-it-all, Salt Shaker, Carrie Bradthaw, Sled Zepplin, Icetalavista Baby, Brine Freeze, to name just a few.

Municipalities across the United States have adopted similar snow plow trackers. Arlington County in Virginia began its naming contest this year to spread the word about its snow and ice map.

“We wanted it to be a fun way for people to follow along, but also bring awareness to just the hard work that these crews do,” Kiara Candelaria Nieves, a communications specialist for the county’s department of environmental services, said of the emergency response crews and private contractors that operate the plows.

Winning names

If you live in a state that sees snowfall, chances are the plows that scrap your streets have nicknames, too.

Alaska, Nevada, Minnesota, Vermont, Delaware, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Ohio all have launched similar contests.

Here are some of the winning names from coast to coast.

  • Plowy McPlowface

  • CTRL-SALT-DEL

  • You're Killin' Me Squalls

  • Yer a Blizzard, Harry

  • Fast and Flurrious

  • The Big LePlowski

  • Scoop! There it is

  • Ope, Just Gonna Plow Right Past Ya

  • Melton John

  • Sleetwood Mac

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dolly Plowton? Melton John? Your local snowplow might have a name.

Latest Stories

  • World reacts to Trump withdrawing US from Paris climate pact

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement on Monday, once again placing the world's top historic emitter of greenhouse gases outside the global pact aimed at pushing nations to tackle climate change. Ignoring it only sends all that vast wealth to competitor economies, while climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse, destroying property and businesses, hitting nation-wide food production, and driving economy-wide price inflation. "The door remains open to the Paris Agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries."

  • Wildfires prompt evacuations near San Diego amid relentless Santa Ana winds: Updates

    As wildfires continued to burn in Los Angeles, three fires broke out in San Diego County, prompting evacuation orders and warnings.

  • Earth’s magnetic north pole is on the move, and scientists just updated its position

    Your navigation system just got a critical update, one that happens periodically because Earth’s magnetic north pole keeps moving. Here’s what to know.

  • The Cascade Mountains Have Been Hiding a Precious Natural Resource. A Research Team Just Found It.

    But it may not be around for long.

  • Babies found on Houston sidewalk with intoxicated mother in winter storm Enzo, say police

    A woman who showed signs of intoxication was found with her 2-month-old and 1-year-old babies in Houston, Texas during winter storm Enzo, said police.

  • Forecasters Warn of New 'Extremely Critical' Fire Risk in Southern California as Blazes Continue to Burn

    Mild temperatures and low humidity are expected to contribute to "dangerous fire weather conditions" through Tuesday, Jan. 21

  • 4 reported dead in brutal cold as historic snow falls in once-in-a-generation storm in the South

    Roughly 40 million people from Texas to the Carolinas are under winter weather alerts as a rare winter storm amid bone-chilling temperatures brings potentially historic snowfall to cities unused to harsh, cold weather.

  • Dangerous Arctic freeze, lake-effect snow squalls keep hold of Ontario

    An Arctic blast of air continues to lock Ontario in a deep freeze and fuel potent lake-effect snow squalls

  • What's next for EVs as Trump moves to revoke Biden-era incentives?

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order promising to eliminate what he incorrectly labels “the electric vehicle mandate” imposed under former President Joe Biden. His order on Monday is consistent with pledges Trump made on the campaign trail to end what he calls a “preposterous” focus on EVs by Biden and other Democrats. The order, along with other steps expected in a second Trump administration, could slow U.S. efforts to address climate change, much of which is caus

  • Outgoing US Agriculture Chief Criticizes EPA Report on Biofuels

    (Bloomberg) -- US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in one his final acts, criticized a Biden administration assessment that the country’s key biofuel law likely has had a “modest but negative” impact on the environment.Most Read from BloombergHow Sanctuary Cities Are Preparing for Another Showdown With TrumpTexas HOA Charged With Discrimination for Banning Section 8 RentersWhat LA’s Fires Mean for the City’s Housing ShortageNYC Commuters Get New Way to Dodge Traffic: $95 Helicopter RidesDeadly

  • Operation underway to capture B.C. wolves for relocation in Colorado

    A wildlife team from the United States has begun capturing grey wolves in British Columbia for release in Colorado after voters in the state approved a proposal to reintroduce the animals, which have been "functionally extinct" there for 75 years.

  • Next round of snow and strong winds for the Prairies looming

    A clipper will dive through the Prairies this week, bringing light snow and gusty winds. While travel will be impacted, luckily, the winds won't be as strong as the most-recent event

  • CEO of Southern Water arrives ahead of inquiry grilling

    Lawrence Gosden, chief executive of Southern Water, arrives at Parliament ahead of his grilling into water outages and proposed price hikes - in what will be the first session of their 'reforming the water sector' inquiry.

  • Environment minister open to replacing carbon tax if Canada can still meet its climate goals

    Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said he is open to replacing the carbon tax he has long defended if Liberal leadership candidates propose new measures to help Canada achieve its climate targets.Guilbeault, a staunch advocate of consumer carbon pricing, did not call for an end to the controversial measure. However, he told reporters on Monday that he has been discussing alternatives with candidates in his party's leadership race if they decide to abandon it."Our plan to fight climate chang

  • Storm in Florida could bring inches of snow

    FDOT is preparing for snow in Florida

  • Thousands without power in Edmundston area during cold snap

    Around 4,900 residents in the New Brunswick city of Edmundston and the surrounding area were without electricity Tuesday, as the region deal with severe cold. The outage was impacting N.B. Power customers, as well as clients of Energy Edmundston, the city's homegrown energy department. "We don't know what happened, and N.B. Power doesn't know, either," said Jacques Doiron, the city's fire chief and emergency measures organization co-ordinator. "We don't know when it's going to come back." Doiron

  • How to survive snow and bitter cold that's reached all the way to the Gulf Coast

    Protecting homes, cars, people and pets from snow, ice and bitterly cold temperatures just isn't something many people are accustomed to in the Deep South. When approaching a stop, for instance, “brake much sooner than you normally would, and just start easing into that stop in case sliding will occur — because it probably will on ice,” says Brock Carlson, owner of Let's Get Rolling Driving School in northern Minnesota. The winter blast has brought unusually cold temperatures and rare snow that's coated New Orleans landmarks and even beaches along the Alabama and Mississippi coastline.

  • Council appeals for help to trace fly-tippers who cut off homes and businesses

    Contractors using a mechanical digger had to be called in to remove a 40ft-long mound of waste from a lane near Lichfield in Staffordshire.

  • Trump orders suspension of new offshore wind power leasing

    Without providing evidence, he said offshore wind projects were behind an increase in whale deaths off the U.S. East Coast in recent years. A White House press release said Trump issued an executive action suspending offshore wind leasing from all areas of the U.S. outer continental shelf pending an environmental and economic review. The order is not expected to impact existing U.S. offshore wind projects being advanced by companies including Orsted, Avangrid, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Dominion.

  • WATCH: Frigid Tuesday, tracking Southern storm for potential Triad impact

    Very cold Triad air is in place as a winter storm develops across the South. The northern and western edge of the storm may bring evening snow showers into the southern half of our area. Any snow that reaches the ground is expected to make roads slick.