Rochester’s Mystery Road Stripes Now Explained

If you’ve noticed odd stripes suddenly appearing on Rochester roads ahead of a snowstorm, you’re not alone. And there’s a surprisingly practical reason they show up when they do here in Minnesota.

One of the benefits of living here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where snow and ice are common for nearly half of the year, is that we've become pretty good at dealing with all this winter weather. That same winter weather, when it occurs in other parts of the country, sometimes brings everything to a halt. But not here!

MnDOT and Rochester Crews Prepare for Weekend Winter Weather Advisory

So, first, here's a quick shout-out to all the plow drivers for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and various municipalities (like the city of Rochester and Olmsted County) who answer the call and head out into the cold to keep our roads drivable when Old Man Winter throws more snow our way.

Which is likely to happen again this weekend. The National Weather Service in La Crosse has issued a Winter Weather Advisory from 6 am to 6 pm on Saturday, February 28, 2026, and is forecasting that anywhere between 1 and 4 inches of snow could fall across southeast Minnesota, including Rochester.

The Science Behind the Mystery Stripes on Minnesota Roads

But did you know that road crews don't just wait for the snow to fall before taking action? They've come up with a way to try to get AHEAD of winter storms. MnDOT as well as various municipal public works departments (like Rochester) have been out looking at problem areas on roads and highways for a while now and have a special procedure designed to try to prevent snow and ice from building up and causing slick spots.

It's called pretreating, and it involves spraying a salt-brine solution on roads before it snows. Which gives area roads a striped look after the solution is applied:

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How Salt Brine Pretreating Keeps Rochester Roads Safer During Storms

And in the right area and under the right conditions, those stripes can help keep ice from building up on the road and make it easier to clear the snow that's likely on the way later this weekend.

As you'll see in the MnDOT video below, keeping our roads free of ice and snow has come a long way. Speaking of coming a long way, do you remember how different Minnesota's license plates have looked over the years? Keep scrolling to see what they looked like the year you were born!