What is a snow squall?

QUAD CITIES, IA/Ill. (KWQC) - During a typical winter storm, you generally know what is coming at least 24 hours in advance.

But when it comes to a snow squall, conditions can change rapidly, leading to little or no warning at all.

A snow squall as an intense, short-lived burst of snow with a quick onset.

The snow can accumulate up to two inches per/hour in some instances, creating dangerous driving conditions in a short amount of time. There oftentimes can be a quick drop in temperature as the squall moves through.

This is why the National Weather Service will now issue a Snow Squall Warning when conditions warrant. The warnings started being issued in the winter of 2018-2019 in an effort to prevent major injuries or death as a result of dangerous travel conditions from snow squalls.

They are usually in effect for 30 to 60 minutes, similar to a Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm Warning in the spring and summer months.

Most cell phones will receive a notification when a Snow Squall Warning is issued, alerting people to the dangerous driving conditions expected.

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are sent to cell phones from several different government agencies, including NWS.

No download of an app is necessary, and the alerts are based on your geographic location at the time.

Not only are they sent out for severe weather such as a tornado, flash flood emergency or snow squall, but they are also used for local emergency, Amber Alerts and presidential alerts during a national emergency.

The last time a Snow Squall Warning was issued in the Quad Cities area prior to February 19, was December 9, 2019 -- a difference of 801 days.

As always, you should have more than one way to receive severe weather alerts. In addition to KWQC-TV6 and Wireless Emergency Alerts, you can purchase a NOAA Weather Radio, or download the TV6 News App and/or QC Weather App for free on your smart phone or tablet.

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