(WBRE/WYOU) — You might associate weather warnings with severe storms during the spring and summer but as it turns out, winter brings a danger all its own, particularly when it comes to snow squalls.

They’re not an everyday occurrence in Pennsylvania but snow squalls don’t have to be common to be dangerous.

“They dump a half-inch to even an inch of snow in a very short period of time,” Dave Nicosia of NWS Binghamton said.

You can sometimes see it coming. What looks like a wall of snow and then a sudden white-out. But whether or not you know what’s about to happen, it’s bad news if you’re behind the wheel.

Because of the accidents they cause, snow squalls kill more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. And with visibility being so low, it’s all too easy for one accident to turn into a pileup.

So how do you avoid a tough situation? If a snow squall warning happens before you get out on the road, try to delay your travels.

If you’re already on the road, put on your flashers and if you have the opportunity, get off the road at the nearest exit and wait out the squall.