Winter Storm in Maine, April 18, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Maine, April 18, 2001
Start: 2001-04-18T06:00
End: 2001-04-18T20:00
Location: Maine

April 18, 2001 · NWS CAR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A late season storm produced 5 to 9 inches of snow across portions of extreme Downeast Maine.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS CAR wrote it up.

A late season storm produced 5 to 9 inches of snow across portions of extreme Downeast Maine.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 18, 2:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 18, 2:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
325 AM EDT WED APR 18 2001

.SYNOPSIS...
A DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SOUTH OF CAPE COD WILL MOVE NORTHEAST
ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MAINE TODAY...AND THEN TRACK INTO THE CANADIAN
MARITIMES. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A GOOD CHANCE OF WET SNOW TO DOWNEAST
MAINE TODAY...WITH A LESSER CHANCE ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTHERN AREAS.

DISCUSSION...
MODELS VERY SIMILAR TO 12Z RUN...WITH A SLIGHTLY FURTHER EAST TRACK FROM
YESTERDAYS 00Z RUN. FOR THE SHORT TERM WILL LEAN ON THE ETA...WHICH HAS
SEEMED TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THIS STORM. THE ETA STILL ADVERTISES .75
INCHES OF PRECIP AT EPO...WITH LESSER AMOUNTS TO THE NORTH AND EAST.
AVN/GEM ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE ETA...WITH SIMILAR QPFS.

ALOFT...A VORT MAX OVER THE MID ATLANTIC CLOSES OFF AND TRACKS JUST TO THE
EAST OF MAINE. THIS BRINGS IN VORTICITY ADVECTION AND SOME UPPER LEVEL
DIVERGENCE TO EXTREME EASTERN MAINE...THUS CAUSING THE GREATEST LIFT AND
ACCOUNTING FOR HIGHER QPFS.  850 MB LOW WILL TRACK NEAR EASTPORT...
BRINGING SOME WAA AT 850.  SINCE THIS IS LIMITED...SOUNDING REMAIN COLD
ENOUGH FOR SNOW. BOUNDARY LAYER TEMPS MAY CAUSE SOME AREAS...MAINLY ALONG
THE COAST AND AT THE START OF THE EVENT...TO MIX WITH RAIN.

FOR NOW CURRENT PACKAGE SEEMS REASONABLE...AND WILL ONLY MAKE MINOR
ADJUSTMENTS.  HOWEVER...THIS STORM BEARS WATCHING...AS ONLY A SMALL ERROR
IN TRACK WILL RESULT IN DRASTICALLY HIGHER...OR LOWER...PRECIPITATION
AMOUNTS. KEEPING CLOSE EYE ON RUC/CURRENT RADAR.

OTHERWISE...CLEARING TREND ON THURSDAY. STUCK CLOSE TO MAV NUMBERS FOR
OVERNIGHT LOWS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHTS. FWC/MAV COMPROMISE FOR
HIGHS TODAY AND TOMORROW.

EXTENDED...LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK TO OUR WEST SUNDAY...WHICH SHOULD PULL A
WARM FRONT THROUGH OUR ENTIRE CWA.  THIS COULD BE THE FIRST REAL TASTE OF
SPRING FOR MANY IN NORTHERN MAINE. THE AND AVN/GEM ARE SLOWER BRINING IN
RAIN FROM THIS SYSTEM...SO CHANGED EXTENDED TO HAVE RAIN START LATE
SATURDAY. NO OTHER CHANGES MADE.

COASTAL WATERS...STILL GOING WITH A STRONG GALE...HAVING A FEW GUSTS TO 50
KTS.  EXPECT WINDS TO PEAK TODAY...AND THEN GRADUALLY DROP DOWN TO SCA WINDS
LATE TONIGHT.

.CAR...GALE WARNING
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY ZONES
       16/17/29/30.

APFFEL

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Interior Washington

When: April 18, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Interior Washington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.970, -67.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maine in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, April 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5241702.