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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

As the watchword's change When the wind's note shifts, And the skies grow strange, And the white squall drifts Up sharp from the sea-line, vexing the sea till the low cloud lifts.

From Studies in Song by Swinburne, Algernon Charles

As swiftly as she had gone she came back, like a white squall.

From The Spanish Jade by Hyde, William Henry

When near Cape Florida we experienced a white squall which carried away the foretop-gallant mast and split the foresail.

From A Sailor of King George by Bevan, A. Beckford