AMES, Iowa (AP) — Transportation officials say they plan to hire hundreds of more temporary workers to operate snow plows around Iowa this winter. The state Department of Transportation say they’re hiring nearly 600 snow plow operators for a period that runs between the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. That’s a jump from the hiring of about 300 to 400 workers last winter, Des Moines television station KCCI reported.

The department posted openings recently on its website for jobs in cities across the state. The additional hires are aimed at helping workers who put in overtime hours to combat last winter’s severe weather, the station reported. Employment will run from Oct. 15 through April 15.