{ "number": 921, "headline": "April 18, 2026 Saturday Spring Weather", "standfirst": "Snowfall in the Great Lakes and Northeast behind strong cold front", "desk": "winter", "dateline": { "place": "Weather Trader", "state": null, "lat": null, "lon": null, "site_key": null, "site_name": null, "site_url": null, "accent": null }, "edition": "2026-04-19", "published": "2026-04-19T01:07:18.142000Z", "updated": null, "access": "free", "body_html": "
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Last 10-days of precipitation (rain + snow) shows the pattern nicely: ridge of high pressure over the Eastern U.S. with return flow out of the south out of the Gulf of Mexico into Texas, the mid-Mississippi River Valley, and Great Lakes. Wisconsin and Michigan were hammered with flood-level rains!

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Temperature Anomaly next 6-days | Quite chilly for mid-April behind this cold front and then a warming trend into middle of next week.

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This is post number 921: Good Evening! Day 108 of 2026. Into the back half of April already!

Author: Dr. Ryan Maue (X @RyanMaue X @weathertrader)

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RTMA Current Temperature Analysis | 7:30 PM ET

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Lower 48 average was 59.0\u00b0F

RTMA Current Temperature Anomaly Analysis | 7:30 PM ET

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Lower 48 was -2.4\u00b0F BELOW normal with the center of the U.S. significantly cooler than yesterday

RTMA Current Temperature 24-hour Change | 7:30 PM ET

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More than 30\u00b0 or 40\u00b0F cooler from Michigan down the Mississippi into South Texas

Quick Tropical Update | Atlantic Basin | Next 6-days

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Typical convection / showers along the ITCZ near the Equator from northern South America to the coast of Africa. Way too far south for any development \u2014 until at least end of June.

North Atlantic African Dust | Next 10-days

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Dust over the north Atlantic and Africa \u2014 as any early season tropical waves will be wiped out by dust. We\u2019ll also get a sense of the activity into June by the circulation pattern in the Eastern MDR of the Atlantic, and how dust flows over the ocean.

HRRR 18z \u2014 Radar Simulation Next 48-hours to Monday 2 PM ET

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Welcome rainfall across South Texas \u2026 but nothing survives with the cold front into the parched Southeast. Snowfall (!) around area of Low Pressure in Canada \u2026 with Michigan seeing snowflakes, as well as New York.

HRRR 18z Precipitable Water Next 48-hours (my favorite parameter)

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Weather on Sunday \u2014 Cold front Blasts off the East Coast \u2026 gets hung up across central Florida \u2026 secondary shot of cool/dry air finally clears out the Midwest and Great Lakes \u2014> very chilly Monday and Tuesday mornings.

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NDFD NWS Total Precipitation Next 72-hours through Tuesday Evening

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NWS Snowfall Next 72-hours \u2014 through Tuesday Evening

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Maybe 2-4\u201d of snow in higher elevations of upstate New York and northern New England.

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ECMWF 18z | Forecast 6-days of Precipitable Water (my favorite parameter!)

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Cold front blasts off the East Coast \u2014 but moisture quickly returns out of the Gulf of Mexico with a highly progressive (busy) weather pattern.

ECMWF 18z Precipitation Type + Intensity | Next 6-days

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Strong \u201cwinter weather\u201d storm systems for Canada \u2026 maybe a blizzard developing for Manitoba by Thurs/Fri next week.

The snowfall in the Great Lakes and Northeast on Sunday is from a low pressure centered way up over Hudson Bay.

Moisture Transport (IVT) next 10-days

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Total Precipitation Next 10-days | Blend of Models

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Blend of Models | Total Snowfall Next 10-Days

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ECMWF AIFS 18z next 10-days of 500 mb Height Anomaly

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AIFS 18z evolves into a sequence of troughs \u2026 stretched out beneath high-latitude blocking ridge. This is a cool and unsettled pattern into early May. Still plenty of cool/cold air in Canada that can dump out into the Lower 48.

Blend of Models Temperatures | Highs through Monday, April 27

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Warming trend into later next week before another brief cool down with next passing front \u2026 comfortable heading into end of April.

Blend of Models Temperatures | Lows through Monday, April 27

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Low Temperatures Sunday

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32% of the Lower 48 below freezing \u2026 but only 23 million population

High Temperatures on Sunday

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146 million at least 70\u00b0F \u2026 mostly lost the 90s \u2014 only 9 million

Low Temperatures on Monday

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Still 55 million below freezing!

Low Temperatures Tuesday Morning

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ECMWF AIFS 18z | Temperature at 500 mb | Next 10-days

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The tropospheric polar vortex is still showing -40\u00b0C contour over Arctic Canada through end of April \u2014 impressive! Lobes are pulled southward with passing trough/shortwave disturbances = unsettled and cooler pattern ahead.

Snowfall from ECMWF HRES (15-days)

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This map could be from January \u2014 wouldn\u2019t be out of bounds!

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Temperature Anomaly | Next 15-days | ECMWF EPS 12z Ensemble Mean

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Week #1 | Temperature Anomaly | April 18 - April 24

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Week #2 | Temperature Anomaly | April 25 - May 1

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April 7: 2026 Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Forecast: 11/5/2 9-13 Named Storms (11 most likely)
4-7 Hurricanes (5 or 6 most likely)
1-3 Major Hurricanes (2 most likely)

ACE: 75-85

Maps sourced from weathermodels.com designed and innovated by yours truly! Please subscribe there for real-time access to the newest maps, charts from all of the weather models including ECMWF and AIFS, and NOAA GFS/GEFS. NOAA WPC and SPC for fronts/convective outlooks.

", "body_key": null, "teaser_html": "

Last 10-days of precipitation (rain + snow) shows the pattern nicely: ridge of high pressure over the Eastern U.S. with return flow out of the south out of the Gulf of Mexico into Texas, the mid-Mississippi River Valley, and Great Lakes. Wisconsin and Michigan were hammered with flood-level rains!

Temperature Anomaly next 6-days | Quite chilly for mid-April behind this cold front and then a warming trend into middle of next week.

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