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

See Examples For:

white squall

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

Were not typhoon, white squall, and hurricane His some time playmates?

From Mathieu Ropars: et cetera by William Young

This, I believe, was what sailors call a white squall.

From Hudson Bay by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

Why, you take a fellow all aback, like a white squall.

From The Red Eric by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne