Complete weather coverage

Stories on cleveland.com

Weather radar, forecasts and news

Share your weather news

Follow us on Twitter @clevelanddotcom

Tweet us about the snow in your area or your commute problems using the hashtag

Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

More weather links

School delays or closings from WKYC

Airport flight info:

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When you see green lights on the highway during today's blizzard, it doesn't mean, "Go."

They really mean, "Caution. Snowplow."

The Ohio Department of Transportation is adding bright green flashing lights to its plows this winter to make them stand out and reduce the number of drivers who rear-end them.

"The point of the green, is we would now have a very unique look," said ODOT District 12 spokeswoman Jocelynn Clemings. "You'd know that you're behind a snowplow."

ODOT started campaigning to add the green lights two years ago after a large increase in rear-end collisions. The agency said it wanted the green lights for safety, comparing them to the powerful green light of the comic-book superhero Green Lantern.

Until this year, state law allowed only police, fire and EMS vehicles to use colors other than white or yellow in flashing lights. But House Bill 487, which took effect in September, allows the green on snow-removal vehicles.

ODOT plans to add the green lights to 1,600 vehicles statewide -- 500 by the end of this year -- and have them on all new plows.