Have you ever been driving in February sunshine,suddenly the sky turns dark, the wind begins to howl and within seconds you can't see the hood of your car? Welcome to the world of snow squalls. Snow squalls can produce almost blizzard like conditions for a few moments. The squalls are created by a blast of cold air racing through the region. Lifting moisture at the surface and building cumulonimbus clouds. They are the winter equivalent of summer thunderstorms. In the summer these thunderstorms would build to 20-30,000 feet, however in the winter these squalls usually are only about 5-10,000 feet. Despite their low altitude they have a lot of vertical motion within the clouds. That's why lightning and thunder are common with these systems. They usually only last about 15-20 minutes so heavy accumulation of snow is unlikely, but because of the whiteout conditions, they are especially dangerous to drivers.

Mike Wankum
Meteorologist
WCVC-TV