Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
squall
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Videos
What causes powerful wind squalls?
Quizzes
Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree
Facts You Should Know: Weather Quiz
Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)
Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz
rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops
April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs
Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)
Winter Weather Words Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Flower. Fruit tree. Cherry. Cherry tree. Cherry blossom. Spring. Close-up of cherry blossoms in bloom.
The Perils of an Early Spring
Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.
16 Questions About Earth’s Atmsophere and Weather Answered
Solar system illustration. (planets; sun)
Why Are Planets Round?
This image depicts a 3-day average of actual sea surface temperatures for the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, from August 25-27, 2005 during Hurricane Katrina, with 2005 hurricane season names overlaid
How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?
Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree
Can Lightning Strike the Same Place Twice?
Discover
Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).
9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler
A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin
Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who formulated the Four Freedoms.
7 Alphabet Soup Agencies that Stuck Around
Moonrise over Tucson, Arizona
Why Doesn’t Arizona Observe Daylight Saving Time?
Centimetres vs inches, metal rulers on a white background with clipping path.
15 Questions About Units of Measurement Answered
African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.
Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

squall

meteorology
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/science/squall
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Related Topics:
storm
line squall
See all related content
What causes powerful wind squalls?
What causes powerful wind squalls?Learn about squalls.
See all videos for this article

squall, as used by weather forecasters, a sudden wind-speed increase of 8 metres per second (18 miles per hour) or more, for one minute or longer. It includes several briefer wind-speed changes, or gusts. A squall is often named for the weather phenomenon that accompanies it, such as rain, hail, or thunder; a line squall is one associated with a squall line of thunderstorms that is often hundreds of kilometres long.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.