Cruel Winter? Taylor Swift inspires Ada County’s newest named snowplow

All in the life of a Snowgirl.

The Ada County Highway District’s new snowplow will be named for Taylor Swift, agency spokeswoman Rachel Bjornestad announced Monday. Taylor Drift joins the ACHD’s growing fleet of named snowplows alongside Ashton Jeanty, CTRL+SALT+DELETE, Snotato, The Big Leplowski, Scoop Dogg, PlowyMcPlowface, Clearapathra, and Sled Zeppelin.

This the ACHD’s third year running its “Name a Plow” contest. 2025’s winning public entry came from Bruce Stevenson of Meridian. Taylor Drift received 11% of the 6,816 votes, trouncing fellow rock star contenders Sleetwood Mac, David Plowie, and Snowtorious B.I.G.

ACHD also runs an employee naming contest. The winning employee-submitted name is Snowzooka, submitted by Joey Wallace.

Ice Ventura, Betty White Out and Snowhei Ohtani will have to wait another year.

Taylor and the team may see some extra work this winter. The National Weather Service’s three-month winter weather outlook for December through February calls for a weak La Niña climate pattern across the Pacific. Historically, that current bolsters the odds of above-average precipitation in Southern Idaho. For now, though, Boise looks likely to dodge the bulk of the storms forecast for the coming days, which are zeroing in on the mountains of Central Idaho and near the Wyoming border.

Bogus Basin may see some snow, according to reporting from the Idaho Statesman. Western Montana, too, looks set up for a snowy start to December.

“ACHD thanks everyone who took part by submitting names and casting votes this year, and looks forward to seeing the newly named plows out on the roads during the winter season,” Bjornestad said in a news release.

This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 4:08 PM.