Rain changed to snow during the evening of April 1st and created some accumulating snow before ending in the predawn hours of the 2nd.
Every event with a place to put it; 23 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 ILN wrote it up.
Rain changed to snow during the evening of April 1st and created some accumulating snow before ending in the predawn hours of the 2nd.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 1, 2:56 PM EST, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington OH 356 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 .SYNOPSIS... Low pressure will move south of the area tonight, bringing a period of rain and snow. Weak high pressure moves in for Monday, then a cold front will affect the area Tuesday into Tuesday night. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Weak bubble of high pressure resides over the Ohio Valley on this Easter Sunday afternoon, but clouds have already begun filling back in ahead of the next shortwave. This shortwave currently over the Plains will quickly advance east toward the Ohio Valley late this afternoon/evening. A surface low over Tennessee will also pass southeast of the area tonight. These features will bring rain and snow tonight. The precipitation may start as rain for most areas during the early evening, but based on wet bulb effects and forecast temperatures aloft, the rain should quickly change to snow across northern areas, and then this transition spreads southward through the CWA during the overnight. The heaviest stripe of snow looks oriented along or close to the I-70 corridor /particulary west of Columbus/, as most deterministic guidance would suggest. In this area, QPF is a little lower /compared to southern Ohio/northern Kentucky/ and considering initial melting/rain, have focused accumulations of 2 to 3 inches in this area, with lower amounts on either side. Further south toward the Ohio River, little to no snow accumulation is expected due to much slower transition of p-type. Considering the relatively warm ground, this may lessen the snowfall impact /at least on roads/ to some degree, however enough cooling overnight may support some slippery/slushy roads, bridges, overpasses, etc. SPS/HWO will continue to address. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... Any precipitation should quickly exit the southeast portion of the CWA early Monday morning. Weak high pressure builds in for the remainder of Monday for some sunshine. But the sun may again be short-lived as models indicate increasing moisture for clouds to return for the afternoon. Strengthening isentropic lift north of a warm front will then promote cloudy skies and the development of showers on Monday evening. With a hint of instability, can't rule out isolated thunder late Monday night across southwestern areas which will wind up in a warm sector. For temperatures, stuck close to guidance for maxima Monday for upper 40s north/lower 50s south. Then, with a warm front advancing north, temperatures will rise after midnight Monday night. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... On Tuesday morning, broad ridging will exist in the eastern third of the country, with broad WSW flow through the mid levels of the atmosphere. Surface low pressure will be developing over northern Missouri, and deepening slightly as it moves northeast into southern Michigan by evening. This will be a favorable setup for lift in terms of both kinematics and low-level forcing. 500mb flow is expected to strengthen ahead of a sharp shortwave moving into the Great Lakes, and 300mb flow will be favorably diffluent. At the surface, a cold front attached to the surface low is expected to move into the Ohio Valley during the late afternoon and cross the region during the evening and early overnight hours. Overall model agreement has remained strong on the way this system has been handled, with confidence in the positioning of the fronts and the strength of the forcing. This will allow for high-end PoPs (categorical) to be used early Tuesday morning with the warm front, before tapering off to scattered showers (and likely some dry periods) during the day in the warm sector. Categorical PoPs will again be used along and ahead of the cold front, with a sharp back edge to precipitation chances once the front has passed. With good confidence in the location and quality of the warm sector, temperatures have been increased for Tuesday afternoon. Max temps on Tuesday will be the warmest of the forecast period by a good margin, pushing into the lower to possibly middle 70s in the southeastern sections of the CWA. As the warm front should be mostly north of the area by afternoon, the temperature forecast has also been increased in the northern CWA, with max temps in the lower to middle 60s. A sharp drop in temperatures was drawn in behind the cold front, allowing for min temps early Wednesday morning in the middle to upper 30s. Several potential hazards exist on Tuesday and Tuesday night as a result of this weather system. First, there will be a chance for strong southerly / south-southwesterly wind gusts in the warm sector. Gusts were bumped up into the 30-40 MPH range with this forecast, but based on forecast soundings (and blending the values from the GFS/NAM) there is still room for this to increase, possibly close to advisory criteria. Second, there is a threat for severe weather with storms that develop along or ahead of the cold front. Strong southwesterly winds will provide wind shear to supplement the strong forcing, allowing for the possibility of organized convection, likely in some sort of linear/QLCS form. 0-3km wind shear values will approach 50 knots, with much of that (at least in terms of speed shear) focused in the lowest 1 or 2 kilometers. There are a few limiting factors: 1) Marginal instability, as despite the quality of the warm sector, dewpoints are only expected to reach the upper 50s to maybe close to 60. 2) A weak directional component to the low-level shear, with surface flow being generally out of the southwest. 3) The possibility that pre-frontal convection could disrupt the mesoscale environment in advance of the strongest forcing along the front. Nonetheless, the potential for a QLCS-type event appears to be there, in addition to strong (perhaps convectively enhanced) wind gusts along the front. A return to a cool pattern is expected for Wednesday and through the end of the week, with dry conditions to start for Wednesday and Thursday, outside of a chance of some light wrap-around showers in northern Ohio on Wednesday. There may also be some gusty winds in northern and central Ohio in the cold advection on Wednesday. The next chance for precipitation appears to move into the area Thursday night into Friday, but there remains a considerable difference between the robust GFS and paltry ECMWF with respect to this system. Not seeing a whole lot of support or consistency in the 500mb pattern on the GFS ensemble, so will keep PoPs on the low end for this forecast update. More significant frontal development may occur over the weekend. Based on current expectations for surface temperatures, snow appears to be a possibility during the cooler parts of the day, depending on when the precipitation ends up occurring. Through at least Sunday, temperatures are likely to remain below normal. && .AVIATION /19Z SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Mid and high clouds will continue to increase through the afternoon, and then lower this evening as precip develops ahead of a shortwave. Initial precip this evening looks to be rain, but rain likely quickly changes to snow within a couple hours of onset at northern terminals, and in snow IFR conditions are likely as advertised by most guidance. Transition will be slower to occur at the Cincinnati terminals, and mainly MVFR is expected. All precipitation should have ended before daybreak Monday. MVFR cigs may hold on for a while early in the morning, then a return to VFR for the remainder of the valid TAF period. OUTLOOK...MVFR cigs and vsbys possible at times from Monday night through Tuesday night. Gusty winds and thunderstorms are also possible Tuesday through Tuesday night. && .ILN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...None. KY...None. IN...None. && SYNOPSIS...BPP NEAR TERM...BPP SHORT TERM...BPP LONG TERM...Hatzos AVIATION...BPP
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wilmington OH 401 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 INZ066-OHZ026-034-035-046-055-056-063>065-070>072-022015- Franklin IN-Hardin-Mercer-Auglaize-Delaware-Franklin OH-Licking- Fayette OH-Pickaway-Fairfield-Butler-Warren-Clinton- 401 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Southeast Indiana, Central Ohio, Southwest Ohio and West Central Ohio. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. Precipitation will develop across the area by early this evening. The precipitation will likely begin as rain, but is expected to change over to snow during the mid to late evening hours. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 2 inches will be possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Gusty winds of up to 40 MPH are expected on Tuesday afternoon. Thunderstorms will be possible from late Tuesday afternoon through the early overnight hours. Some of these storms may be severe, with a primary threat of damaging winds. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report snow accumulations to the National Weather Service. INZ050-058-059-OHZ042>045-051>054-060>062-022015- Wayne-Fayette IN-Union IN-Darke-Shelby-Logan-Union OH-Miami- Champaign-Clark-Madison-Preble-Montgomery-Greene- 401 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for East Central Indiana, Central Ohio and West Central Ohio. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. Precipitation will develop across the area by early this evening. The precipitation will likely begin as rain, but is expected to change over to snow during the mid to late evening hours. Snowfall accumulations of 2 to 3 inches will be possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Gusty winds of up to 40 MPH are expected on Tuesday afternoon. Thunderstorms will be possible from late Tuesday afternoon through the early overnight hours. Some of these storms may be severe, with a primary threat of damaging winds. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report snow accumulations to the National Weather Service. INZ073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ073-074-077>082-088-022015- Ripley-Dearborn-Ohio-Switzerland-Carroll-Gallatin-Boone-Kenton- Campbell-Owen-Grant-Pendleton-Bracken-Robertson-Mason-Lewis-Ross- Hocking-Hamilton-Clermont-Brown-Highland-Adams-Pike-Scioto- 401 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Southeast Indiana, Northeast Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, Central Ohio, South Central Ohio and Southwest Ohio. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. Precipitation will develop across the area early this evening. The precipitation will likely begin as rain, but is expected to change over to a rain/snow mix overnight. Any snowfall accumulations would be less than one inch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Gusty winds of up to 40 MPH are expected on Tuesday afternoon. Thunderstorms will be possible from late Tuesday afternoon through the early overnight hours. Some of these storms may be severe, with a primary threat of damaging winds. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report snow accumulations to the National Weather Service.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Wilmington OH 403 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 INZ050-058-059-OHZ042>045-051>054-060>062-020300- Wayne-Fayette IN-Union IN-Darke-Shelby-Logan-Union OH-Miami- Champaign-Clark-Madison-Preble-Montgomery-Greene- Including the cities of Richmond, Connersville, Liberty, West College Corner, Greenville, Sidney, Bellefontaine, Marysville, Troy, Piqua, Tipp City, Urbana, Springfield, London, West Jefferson, Plain City, Eaton, Camden, Dayton, Kettering, Beavercreek, Fairborn, and Xenia 403 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 ...ACCUMULATING SNOW EXPECTED TONIGHT... Precipitation will develop across the area by early this evening. The precipitation will likely begin as rain, but is expected to change over to snow during the mid to late evening hours. Snowfall accumulations of 2 to 3 inches will be possible. Any snow should melt quickly early Monday. The snow may result in slippery, slushy roads along with reduced visibilities. Exercise caution if you plan to travel tonight. INZ066-OHZ026-034-035-046-055-056-063>065-070>072-020300- Franklin IN-Hardin-Mercer-Auglaize-Delaware-Franklin OH-Licking- Fayette OH-Pickaway-Fairfield-Butler-Warren-Clinton- Including the cities of Brookville, Kenton, Ada, Celina, Coldwater, Wapakoneta, St. Marys, Delaware, Columbus, Newark, Washington Court House, Circleville, Lancaster, Pickerington, Hamilton, Middletown, Fairfield, Oxford, Mason, Lebanon, Springboro, Wilmington, and Blanchester 403 PM EDT Sun Apr 1 2018 ...ACCUMULATING SNOW EXPECTED TONIGHT... Precipitation will develop across the area by early this evening. The precipitation will likely begin as rain, but is expected to change over to snow during the mid to late evening hours. Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 2 inches will be possible. Any snow should melt quickly early Monday. The snow may result in slippery, slushy roads along with reduced visibilities. Exercise caution if you plan to travel tonight.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
23 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The observer 3 miles south of St. Mary's measured 3.5 inches of snow. The county garage near Wapakoneta measured 3 inches of snow.
The county garage near Maustown measured 1.3 inches of snow.
A spotter in Urbana measured 1.5 inches of snow.
A social media post from New Carlisle showed that 2.5 inches of snow fell there. The county garage west of Springfield measured 2 inches, while the CoCoRaHS observer north of Springfield measured 1.9 inches.
The cooperative observer 3 miles north of Wilmington measured 2.2 inches of snow. The NWS office in Wilmington measured 1.9 inches of snow. A NWS employee 4 miles west of town and the CoCoRaHS observer 2 miles north of town both measured 1.8 inches of accumulation.
The observer west of Versailles measured 3 inches of snow, while another northwest of Bradford measured 2.8 inches. The CoCoRaHS observer east of Pitsburg measured 2.5 inches, while another 3 miles west of Potsdam measured 2.1 inches.
A social media post from Sunbury measured 4 inches of snow, as did the county garage 2 miles east of Delaware. The CoCoRaHS observer 4 miles north of Dublin measured 3.5 inches of snow, while two others 5 and 6 miles east of Sunbury measured 3 and 2.7 inches, respectively.
A spotter 2 miles south of Lancaster measured 1.9 inches of snow.
A post from Washington Court House showed that 2.1 inches of snow fell.
The observer located 3 miles south of New Albany measured 2.1 inches of snow. A spotter near Clintonville measured 2 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer 3 miles east of Dublin measured 1.6 inches, while another 8 miles northeast of Columbus measured 1.5 inches. The CMH airport came in with 1.4 inches of accumulation.
The observer located 3 miles southeast of Fairborn measured 2 inches of snow. Another west of Clifton measured 1.5 inches.
The observer near Wyoming measured 1.1 inches of snow. Other CoCoRaHS observers 8 and 9 miles northwest of Cincinnati and 3 miles west of Cheviot all measured an inch.
The observer 6 miles north of Granville measured 2 inches of snow, while another CoCoRaHS observer 4 miles north of Granville measured 1.3 inches.
A social media post from Bellefontaine showed that 3.8 inches of snow fell there. The county garage north of town measured 3.5 inches, while a spotter in Quincy measured 3 inches.
The observer 3 miles south of Maria Stein measured 4 inches of snow.
Two observers 1 mile south-southeast and 1 mile south-southwest of Piqua measured 3.2 and 3 inches of snow, respectively. A spotter northeast of Troy measured 2.8 inches, while another CoCoRaHS observer 3 miles south of Troy measured 2.5 inches.
The observer 2 miles north of Huber Heights measured 2 inches of snow. The Dayton airport DAY measured 1.9 inches. A CoCoRaHS observer near Union measured 1.7 inches, while another 4 miles south of Centerville and near New Lebanon both measured 1.5 inches.
The county garage in Circleville measured an inch of snow.
The observer north of Eaton measured 1.4 inches of snow.
The observer north of Fort Loramie measured 4.4 inches of snow, while another north of Houston measured 4 inches. A spotter in Botkins measured 3.1 inches of snow.
The observer 4 miles northwest of Raymond measured 3.5 inches of snow.
The observer in Kings Mills measured 0.8 inches of snow.
The observer in Fayetteville measured 1.3 inches of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 746066, 746067, 746068, 746069, 746070, 746071, 746072, 746073, 746074, 746075, 746076, 746077, 746078, 746079, 746080, 746081, 746082, 746083, 746084, 746085, 746086, 746087, 746088.