April 2018 Climate Summary

Top 5 Coldest April at Both Milwaukee and Madison

April 2018 will go down as one of the coldest April's on record at both Milwaukee and Madison. A persistent and stubborn upper level flow from the polar region delivered a steady supply of very chilly air throughout the month.

Milwaukee finished with an average temperature of 38.9 degrees which was 6.7 degrees below normal and was the 5th coldest April on record going back to 1871. Madison ended up with an average temperature of 37.6 degrees which was 9.0 degrees below normal and was tied with 1907 for the 2nd coldest April on record going back to 1869. Had it not been for the very warm conditions on the last day of the month, Madison would've tied 1874 for the coldest April on record. Had the high temperature not reached 80 degrees, the average temperature for the month would've remained at 37.5 degrees, but the high reached all the way to 81 degrees pushing the average temperature 0.1 degree higher. I doubt anyone will complain about not setting the record though. Milwaukee's warm day on April 30th caused a jump from 4th coldest to 5th coldest due to a high of 79 degrees.

Average Temperature Average Temperature Departure

Maximum Temperature Maximum Temperature Departure

Minimum Temperature Minimum Temperature Departure

Precipitation varied depending where you were across southern Wisconsin. Locations along the Illinois border saw less than portions of central Wisconsin.

Precipitation Percent of Normal Precipitation

Another oddity about April 2018 was the amount of snow that fell throughout the month. Accumulating snow fell several different times throughout the month. Many locations received between 15 to 20 inches of snow during the month which is 5 to 10 times the normal amount.

Snowfall Percent of Normal Snowfall

2%