By: Jonathan Guseman, National Weather Service, Warning Coordination Meteorologist
 
When you think of winter weather hazards, what comes to mind? Do you think of big snow storms that drop a significant amount of snow? Do you think of ice storms that cover trees, powerlines, and roadways in a glaze of ice? Or maybe you think of flooding that can occur when a storm drops heavy rain on top of melting snow, overwhelming creeks, streams, and rivers with water.

Pennsylvania sees many forms of hazardous winter weather, including snow squalls. A snow squall is a brief but intense period of heavy snow (up to 2 inches in 30 minutes), strong winds (30+ mph), and whiteout conditions (visibility less than ¼ mile). Snow squalls often occur on days with otherwise partly cloudy skies. Coming on so suddenly, snow squalls can catch drivers off guard and lead to major transportation impacts, including deadly multi-vehicle accidents.

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