Often associated with strong cold fronts, snow squalls are one of the most dangerous winter weather phenomena drivers can face as sudden whiteout conditions, gusty winds, and falling temperatures can result in near zero visibility and icy roads in just a few minutes. There is literally no safe place on a highway during a snow squall and the folks at Hofstra University decided to create a simulation of the conditions for people to experience them from the safety of their home:
“While driving down the interstate, you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a snow squall. Do you know what actions you should take?”
The National Weather Service, College Station Pennsylvania helped develop the simulation in hopes to educate drivers about the dangers of driving in sudden whiteout conditions. The Snow Squall Driving Simulation is best experience with a Meta Quest VR Headset but there is a desktop version available you can try on your pc. Just demoed the desktop sim and it’s honestly does a fine job emulating whats its like encountering a terrifying white wall of snow at highway speeds. Here’s a hint, if you don’t slow down immediately bad things can happen.
Be safe out there folks, snow squalls can and do happen. Learn more about their dangers from the PSA video below:
