April 2018 North American storm complex

April 2018 North American storm complex
Category 4 "Crippling" (RSI/NOAA: 15.7)
true-color imagery of the extratropical cyclone and its resultant convection on April 13
TypeTornado outbreak
Extratropical cyclone
Winter storm
Blizzard
FormedApril 13, 2018 (2018-04-13)
DissipatedApril 15, 2018 (2018-04-15)
Highest winds
Lowest pressure985 mb (29.09 inHg)
Tornadoes
confirmed
73
Max. rating1EF3 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2
2 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes
Largest hail2.75 in (7.0 cm) diameter in Belmont, North Carolina
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion
Snow – 33 in (84 cm) near Amherst, Wisconsin
Freezing rain – 1 in (2.5 cm) in Lowville, New York
FatalitiesTornadic: 1 fatality (+1 indirect), 29 injuries
Winter weather: 3 fatalities[2]
Damage$1.5 billion (2022 USD) [1]
Areas affectedMid-South, Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic, Eastern Canada

1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

The April 2018 North American storm complex also known as Winter Storm Xanto brought a wide swath of severe and winter weather that affected much of Midwest across to the East Coast of the United States. This particular outbreak led to at least 73 confirmed tornadoes over a three-day period, most of which occurred across Arkansas and Louisiana during the evening hours of April 13. The most significant tornadoes were an EF1 that caused a fatality in Red Chute, Louisiana, early on April 14, an upper-end EF2 tornado that impacted eastern sections of Greensboro, North Carolina on April 15, causing 17 injuries, and a significant EF3 tornado that impacted areas from Lynchburg to Elon, Virginia, causing severe damage and at least 10 injuries.

The system also resulted in a record-breaking and severe blizzard across the Midwest into the Northeastern United States; killing three additional people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Snowfall amounts of up to 18–24 inches (46–61 cm), which are rarely seen in the month of April in the region were observed, shattering numerous records.

  1. ^ "Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: Events". NOAA. February 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  2. ^ Winter Storm Xanto Closes Twin Cities Schools Again Monday; Hundreds of Thousands Still Lack Power, The Weather Channel, April 16, 2018