Two mild Minnesota winters in a row do not make a trend.

Tuesday, December 14, 1999

Two mild Minnesota winters in a row do not make a trend.

Winter happens and it happens fast.

This week, the forecasts include the first measurable snows of the season.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has more than 800 snowplows statewide and 1,500 snowplow operators ready to roll, whenever Mother Nature changes her mind.

For MnDOT maintenance crews, yearround training keeps their skills sharp. But no amount of training can help them avoid motorists, who drive into snow clouds, collide with main or wing plow blades and crash into snowplow trucks.

MnDOT wants all drivers to "See orange" and "Stay back, stay alive," as their public service announcements warn.