What's the difference between downpour and squall?

Downpour


Definition:

  • (n.) A pouring or streaming downwards; esp., a heavy or continuous shower.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Some retailers said April's downpours led to pent-up demand which was unleashed at the first sign of summer, with shoppers rushing to update their summer wardrobes.
  • (2) The warm weather will not reach all parts of the country, however – with pockets of north-west England still expecting showery downpours this weekend.
  • (3) Boxing Day sales shoppers were soaked as downpours continued across the country on Wednesday, and there were warnings that an Atlantic storm would bring more heavy rain at the weekend.
  • (4) Downpours of up to 40-50mm could fall in the next 24 hours as the rain reaches Lancashire and Cumbria initially and then crosses the Pennines, gaining in intensity.
  • (5) Hart conceded his mistake at Ludovic Obraniak's corner had cost his team – "I came out and didn't get there, so it's my fault and that's cost us the three points," he said – even if the home side merited their point on a stodgy surface that was still saturated from the downpour the previous night.
  • (6) Kerry McQuade whose home perched high up on Blenheim Street avoided the worst effects, said: "We had two hours of a torrential downpour, followed by continual rain, from lunchtime.
  • (7) In London, the Thames Barrier was raised on Thursday morning for the first time since March 2010, to reduce the risk of flooding as water from days of downpours causes high levels further upstream.
  • (8) We have seen upsets and outbursts, sunshine and downpours, staggering exits and gaudy new arrivals.
  • (9) The downpour notwithstanding, a few hundred people gathered in the square erupted in applause and shouted Obama’s name as the first family stepped forward.
  • (10) A succession of storms, some very high tides and incessant downpours this winter have brought into stark relief Britain's exposure to the weather.
  • (11) As for the rainstorm in the US, its fatal unpredictability was shown when a Thursday morning downpour dumped 4 inches on Spartanburg, South Carolina, causing flash floods that submerged several cars.
  • (12) "There is also an ongoing risk of flooding from groundwater, particularly in Dorset, and some larger rivers like the Thames and Severn are still rising as they slowly respond to the recent downpours.
  • (13) Thames Water , one of seven companies in southern and eastern England that introduced restrictions on water use on 5 April, said the recent downpours may have staved off further curbs against drought but did not amount to "a long-term fix".
  • (14) The environment select committee's report also said the government's spending by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to protect homes from flooding is not keeping pace with the rising risk, which is increasing as climate change intensifies downpours, and were also failing to act effectively to block the building of new homes on floodplains.
  • (15) Lee’s coffin, draped in Singapore’s red-and-white flag and protected from the downpour by a glass casing, lay atop a ceremonial gun carriage that was solemnly led past city landmarks from parliament to a cultural centre where the state funeral was held.
  • (16) More heavy downpours will continue on Thursday and Friday as fresh bands of rain sweep east, followed by a storm this weekend.
  • (17) The deluge that has engulfed southern and central England in recent weeks is the worst winter downpour in almost 250 years, according to figures from the world's longest-running weather station.
  • (18) Many residents say the Environment Agency should have pumped water away from the moors sooner following the spring downpours and claim it is not doing enough to keep rivers and streams dredged or to find alternative ways to store floodwater.
  • (19) The report reveals that while downpours and storms have not been out of the ordinary, their frequency has been.
  • (20) Warmer temperatures and frequent downpours speed up the breeding cycles of the insects.

Squall


Definition:

  • (n.) A sudden violent gust of wind often attended with rain or snow.
  • (v. i.) To cry out; to scream or cry violently, as a woman frightened, or a child in anger or distress; as, the infant squalled.
  • (n.) A loud scream; a harsh cry.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It all amounts to increasing uncertainty at Leeds, the latest squall on their voyage through choppy waters.
  • (2) They could have gone even further by including some real Lerwick accents, which sound exactly like someone reading an Ikea stock inventory in the middle of a squall, but they didn't.
  • (3) Violent storms brought torrential rain, squalls and giant hail on the 28th.
  • (4) Every spring, parents plant their dolled-up (and often squalling) toddlers in the sparse patches of fire ant-infested Blue Bonnets that grow along the side of the busiest Texas highways and snap a photo.
  • (5) When Miliband mentioned these talks on TV the next day, a squall broke in No 10 as staff contemplated another Lib Dem rebellion.
  • (6) The room is shaking from a squall of heavy, crunching rock and balding members of the crowd are playing air-slap bass with their eyes closed.
  • (7) Mikkelson’s home, tucked in the San Fernando valley hills, is an incongruous base to referee the world’s brawling, squalling system of interconnected computer networks.
  • (8) In common with so many of the unpleasant episodes involving angry young men in modern London, it was a squall about reputation and respect.
  • (9) A squall that had appeared at two French investment funds exposed to US sub-prime loans was about to develop into a hurricane.
  • (10) Settlers would have disliked the squall of a fight.
  • (11) In all this squall there are worrying portents here of the way that the abortion debate in the US has been hijacked by hardliners who want to take away a woman's right to abortion.
  • (12) If Paterson had taken over a leaky ship in a squall, he had now managed to steer it into a force 10 storm.
  • (13) There was a period in the mid-90s when his career seemed to be in decline; after the huge success of Thelma & Louise in 1991 there was a run of box-office disappointments - 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), White Squall (1996) and GI Jane (1997).
  • (14) I’m proud of that.” Julia said she was surprised at the results coming out of Atlantic Canada – the first squalls in the coming storm.
  • (15) The book has caused, if not a major storm, then at least enough of a squall to ruin a picnic.
  • (16) Going by last week's squalls, what has replaced it is a giant scrap about who should lose most: OAPs or the young, the super-rich or welfare claimants.
  • (17) The scandal which surrounded the publication of his third novel, The City and the Pillar, created a squall powerful enough to blow Vidal's promising literary career definitively off course.
  • (18) Should Trump ride out the storm – and he has flourished in the squalls he has stirred up so far – the question will have to be asked.