White squall

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This article is about the weather phenomenon, for the 1996 film, see White Squall

A white squall is sudden and violent windstorm phenomenon at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. The name refers to the white-capped waves and broken water, its meager warning to any unlucky seaman caught in its path. White squalls are rare at sea, but common on the Great Lakes of North America.

A white squall is the culprit of many sea stories and blamed for quite a few tragedies. It is described as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and lacks the usual dark, ominous squall clouds. The white squall may be myth, or it may be a microburst. If they form during daylight you might see the approach as a line of broken water or whitecaps rushing at your vessel, but usually they appear out of nowhere.^[1]

[edit] Historical Incidents

The Pride of Baltimore, a fine 137-foot (42 m) schooner, was reportedly struck by a white squall. The 121-ton vessel sank about 240 miles (390 km) north of Puerto Rico, casting the surviving crew members adrift for five days. The Toro, a Norwegian freighter picked them up at 2:30 a.m. May 19th, 1986. An eyewitness of the account described it as follows:

"A tremendous whistling sound suddenly roared through the rigging and a wall of wind hit us in the back. The Pride heeled over in a matter of seconds. The 70-knot (130 km/h) wind pushed a 20-foot (6.1 m) high wall of water into the starboard side. She sank in minutes."[1]

A white squall was allegedly behind the sinking of the schooner Albatross on 2 May 1961. The film White Squall tells the story behind the event.

A white squall is also believed to have sunk the schooner Hunter Savidge in Lake Huron in 1899.

Southern Ontario is famous for one frequently recurring white squall nicknamed the "Filteau", it's long lanky lightning strikes have terrified tourists for decades.