Imagine driving down a busy highway in winter: The weather is clear and you are going the speed limit.Suddenly, traffic is enveloped by white-out conditions with little to no visibility and strong, gusty winds. As you slow down, you see a chain-reaction of vehicles swerving, colliding into each other in the distance like amusement park bumper cars.
Lucky for you, you just survived a snow squall.
Imagine driving down a busy highway in winter: The weather is clear and you are going the speed limit.Suddenly, traffic is enveloped by white-out conditions with little to no visibility and strong, gusty winds. As you slow down, you see a chain-reaction of vehicles swerving, colliding into each other in the distance like amusement park bumper cars.
Lucky for you, you just survived a snow squall.
Snow squalls can easily cause large highway pileups — capable of multiple fatalities — due to their brief but heavy snowfall, low or no visibility, and slick road surfaces. Preventing these often deadly car crashes is the motivation behind NOAA’s new snow squall warnings.
Snow squalls are more prevalent in some parts of the country. During January 2018, five NOAA National Weather Service forecast offices in the U.S. Northeast, one in Wyoming and another in Michigan will issue snow squall warnings when conditions warrant.
Continue reading at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Image via NOAA.
