Two rounds of mixed winter precipitation moved over the area with warm air aloft overriding a deep layer of cold air at the surface. This resulted in sleet initially that transitioned to freezing rain before temperatures eventually increased above freezing.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BUF wrote it up.
Two rounds of mixed winter precipitation moved over the area with warm air aloft overriding a deep layer of cold air at the surface. This resulted in sleet initially that transitioned to freezing rain before temperatures eventually increased above freezing. Several areas saw nearly an inch of sleet combined with around one half of an inch of freezing rain. This resulted in thousands of power outages and substantial tree damage.
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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 14, 3:53 PM EST, 2 hours 7 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 ice storm, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
A combination of heavy sleet and one-half inch of measured ice resulted in multiple power outages and trees down throughout the county.
A combination of heavy sleet and one-half inch of measured ice resulted in multiple power outages and trees down throughout the county.
Freezing rain combined with wind caused multiple trees to fall and power lines to fall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, April 2018
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 753696, 753697, 753698, 753699, 753700, 753701, 753703, 753704, 753705, 753706, 753708, 753711, 753713, 758896.