We've all had it happen.  You're driving on a somewhat nice winter day, when suddenly you look far down the road and say, "What the heck is that?"

It's a tremendously huge wall of white consisting of a massive downpour of blowing and blinding snow, and you're driving right into it.  Soon, you'll be blinded.  It's a whiteout, and you're scared to death.

How did it come from out of nowhere?  Well, it does.

Something new!  The National Weather Service will being issuing Snow Squall Warnings this year, and we'll certain welcome them and get them out over the air and online for you.

From the Weather.Gov website: "Snow squall warnings are short-fused and focused on distinct areas (like tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings). These warnings provide critical, highly localized life-saving information. If a snow squall warning is issued for your area, avoid or delay motor travel until the squall passes through your location."

If you've never experienced the thrill of driving head on into a snow squall, and were wondering what the difference is between that and a snowstorm is, then the National Weather Service has this explanation for you:

"The difference between a snow squall and a snowstorm is the duration of the event. Snow squalls are usually very short-lived (on the order of 30-60 minutes) and extremely intense. A snow storm could last for several hours or even days."

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