Washington State Snow Squall Alert, Is It Worse Than a Blizzard?

Snow Squall Alerts in Parts of Washington State

This week the National Weather Service has announced snow squall alerts for parts of Washington State. Do you know what a snow squall is?

I had heard of snow storms and snow blizzards but the phrase snow squall is not used that often. Here is what I learned.

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Snow Squall Alert for Eastern Washington

Over the last few days, snow squall alerts were sent out over parts of eastern Washington around Spokane.

A snow squall warning is in effect until this afternoon for parts north of Spokane around Green Bluff and Deer Park.

It calls for white-out conditions with heavy blowing snow and dangerous travel conditions. That sounds like a blizzard to me, but what is the difference?

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Snow Squall Versus a Snow Blizzard

Even though the conditions will look similar between a snow squall and a snow blizzard, they are different.

A snow squall is a lot like a blizzard except shorter and more concentrated.

A snow squall will only snow for a few hours but still have very high snowfall rates.

Multiple inches an hour are normal during a snow squall.

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Snow Squalls Happen Very Quickly

Snow squalls also happen very quickly with little notice to motorists with drastically changing conditions.

They are often the reason for large accident pile-ups on busy highways because drivers are caught off guard.

Visibility drops fast and the warm ground melts falling snow fast and then freezing making extra slick roads quickly.

A lot of people die in pileups from snow squalls every year in the US from large accident pile-ups.

Now that you know, be safe or maybe stay home the next time you hear a snow squall alert.

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