Squall \Squall\ (skw[add]l), n. [Cf. Sw. sqval an impetuous running of water, sqvalregn a violent shower of rain, sqvala to stream, to gush.] A sudden and violent gust of wind often attended with rain or snow.
The gray skirts of a lifting squall. --Tennyson.
{Black squall}, a squall attended with dark, heavy clouds.
{Thick squall}, a black squall accompanied by rain, hail, sleet, or snow. --Totten.
{White squall}, a squall which comes unexpectedly, without being marked in its approach by the clouds. --Totten.
Squall \Squall\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Squalled} (skw[add]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Squalling}.] [Icel. skvala. Cf. {Squeal}.] To cry out; to scream or cry violently, as a woman frightened, or a child in anger or distress; as, the infant squalled.
Squall \Squall\, n. A loud scream; a harsh cry.
There oft are heard the notes of infant woe, The short, thick sob, loud scream, and shriller squall. --Pope.
The last, sad act in the drama has been well documented: Shelley, a non-swimmer, drowned in August 1822 after an unexpected squall hit the schooner Ariel during a return trip from a visit to Byron at Livorno.
A snow squall advisory was extended in Wisconsin along Lake Superior, where up to 4 inches of snow fell Thursday.
ROUGH WATERS: Recreational boating industry battens down for squall.
Finally, the icebreaker appeared out of the snowy squall line ahead.
With the groundfish haul valued at about $1 billion a year, the dispute has kicked up a fierce political squall, with the two sides trading accusations of Japan-bashing, promoting protectionism and plundering the sea.
A snow squall warning was in effect for the Lake Ontario shoreline, where as much as 6 inches of snow was expected to accumulate.
Yet the City is now caught in a squall, as interest rates rise again, and building societies have been revising downwards their assumptions about house-price increases across the country.