On Jan. 18, alarming notifications alerted locals about the impending “snow squall.” Confused and concerned, many students and staff took to the internet to figure out what a snow squall meant.

The National Weather Service explains that snow squalls can range from small cold fronts to small blizzards. This phenomenon usually comes from the Great Lakes or any large body of water. Typically snow squalls consist of breezy snows that come off water and travel with the wind. Surprisingly, this was the first-ever recorded snow squall in Nebraska, and there is a possibility that it might happen again. The majority of the snow squall hit the Southeast side of Nebraska, towards Lincoln and Nebraska City.

So, where does this weather event get its name? Squall derives from the Scandinavian word “skvala,” which means “to cry out.” Snow squall quite literally means “to cry out thin snow.”

Although the name snow squall sounds light-hearted and even fun, it is actually a very dangerous weather condition. Snow squalls can cause slick roads and create low visibility, which causes challenging road conditions. Temperatures can drop so low during a snow squall that frostbite or other serious injuries may occur.

The snow squall began around 3:30 p.m., just a little after Fremont High School dismissed for the day. With sudden rough road conditions and a lack of visibility, many students and staff members were caught off guard by the quick weather change.

“When I got the alert I had no idea what it was,” senior Sarah Taylor said. “I had to Google it and still really didn’t understand what it was. My mom definitely sent me a screenshot of the warning because she was nervous and wanted me to be safe when driving.”

The weather alert caused much confusion for locals in the Nebraska area.

“I didn’t see the alert on my phone until about 3 hours after it was sent out,” sophomore Colin Hayner said. “Honestly I thought it was another normal winter day in Nebraska.”

Teachers who live outside the Fremont community had difficult times driving home due to bad roads and barely visible conditions.

“It was very scary,” art teacher Jennifer Gay said. “I had to pull over on the side of the road and wait for it to go by. It was like I was looking at a piece of white paper. It usually takes me 12 minutes to get home; it took me 30 minutes to get home. I’ve lived here my whole life and never experienced anything like this.

As soon as the snow squall started, it instantly got everybody’s attention which then mixed with confusion. With this winter being unpredictable in terms of the temperature and crazy cold temperatures, maybe Nebraska will get its second snow squall this year.