Meaning

noun sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation

verb make high-pitched, whiney noises

verb utter a sudden loud cry

originFrom Middle English *squalen and squelen (“to cry, scream, squall”), from Old Norse skvala (“to cry out”), probably ultimately imitative with influence from squeal and bawl. Cognate with Swedish skvala (“to gush, pour down”), Norwegian skval (“sudden rush of water”). The noun is probably from the verb.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0