National Weather Service (NWS) offices in the Midwest will be starting a new, informational product this winter called a SNOW SQUALL WARNING.
Here are some basic facts about this new warning type:
- Will be issued rarely.
- Used for snow squalls that suddenly reduce visibility, often accompanied by gusty winds.
- Short-fused, polygon-based warning (30-60 min)
- More common with lines or bands of heavy snow versus scattered snow showers.
- Will not be sent to phones via Wireless Emergency Alerts initially, but may in the future.
Snow squall warnings have been issued in the northeast U.S. where snow squalls occur more often
