white squall

American  

[hwahyt skwawl, wahyt] / ˈʰwaɪt ˈskwɔl, ˈwaɪt /

noun

Meteorology, Nautical.

1. a maritime squall whose approach is indicated by whitecaps and turbulent water rather than by the clouds that usually accompany a squall.

   The sudden fogs, white squalls, and terrible ice storms made navigating Lake Superior treacherous.

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white squall British  

noun

1. a violent highly localized weather disturbance at sea, in which the surface of the water is whipped to a white spray by the winds

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Etymology

Origin of white squall

First recorded in 1770–75

Example Sentences

Whereupon a gigantic waterspout, which is the devilish eye of a "white squall," which is something that makes a typhoon seem a trifle, hits the ship squarely.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then she ran into a "white squall," a killer blast of 90-m.p.h. wind and water.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then they encountered a white squall, the tail end of a storm that ripped their sails before they could stow canvas, and carried away the rudder.

From The Airship "Golden Hind" by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

He was to work the foresail if they had to tack, or let down the mainsail if a white squall or a tornado struck the ship.

From Bevis The Story of a Boy by Jefferies, Richard

And I have seen the same vessel, but a short hour after, drifting on in the darkness to the pitiless rocks before a white squall.

From Harry Milvaine The Wanderings of a Wayward Boy by Stables, Gordon