Halloween trick-or-treating forecast: Teeth-chattering chill for some, damp weather for others
For kids and adults alike, and all ghosts and ghouls, a long-awaited celebration filled with drinking warm apple cider, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating and binge-watching scary movies is fast approaching, now mere days away.
AccuWeather's Halloween outlook below breaks down where revelers will be dealing with teeth-chattering cold and where an umbrella will be needed for those venturing out to local events and trick-or-treating.
Young trick-or-treaters may have to contend with damp, chilly conditions on Halloween and Halloween night across parts of the Northeast. Forecasters say that a cold front is expected to pass through the region early next week and bring a notable drop in temperature. A swath of showers and potentially even the first snow flurries of the season in the colder spots will occur.
An umbrella may come in handy for residents of the Northeast walking around their neighborhoods early next week, particularly those utilizing face paint as part of their masquerade on All Hallows' Eve.
Often, when the actual Halloween holiday falls on a weekday, towns may choose the closest weekend day for area trick-or-treat nights. Even though this weekend will be substantially warmer compared to conditions on Halloween, the chance of damp weather is still on the table for some interior Northeast locations.
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"The mild conditions that millions are experiencing this week across the Northeast will likely be a distant memory early next week. Temperatures that will climb comfortably to around 80 F in places like New York City and Philadelphia are expected to fall at least 20 degrees shy of those values by next Tuesday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Temperatures can rapidly decline as the cold front passes over the region early next week. Afternoon high temperatures across parts of northern Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont may not even creep into the 40s F on Tuesday while overnight temperatures are projected to fall into the 20s and 30s F.
Under mostly to partly cloudy sky cover, residents of the Hudson Valley village of Sleepy Hollow, New York, are forecast to have temperatures in the lower 50s on Halloween. Farther to the south, in southwestern West Virginia, residents in the town of Scary are expected to face a similar fate with high temperatures in the 50s and the addition of the possibility of showers.
For many ghoulish enthusiasts, visiting Salem, Massachusetts, over Halloween is a bucket-list item. This year, conditions during the start of the weekend may prove rather warm for late October, but by Halloween, the autumn chill is expected to set in. Weather conditions can deteriorate from a mainly dry pattern with afternoon temperatures in the 70s on Saturday to a damp night with temperatures falling into the lower 50s on Halloween Night. There is even the possibility of some snow mixing in with the rain across the interior Northeast by evening.
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"The pattern on Halloween across the Northeast may be favorable for a potent storm to develop and unleash far worse weather conditions across the region, including drenching rain from the coast to the interior, as well as the potential for accumulating snow farther to the north and west," AccuWeather Meteorologist Reneé Duff said, adding that forecasters would continue to scrutinize the weather trends in the days to come.
Following a stretch of mainly dry and warm weather in the Southeast, most locations from northern Florida to the North Carolina coast are expected to remain on the dry side early next week.
Places like Spiderweb, South Carolina, along the Georgia-South Carolina border, will observe a peak in the building warmth by Sunday or Monday then notice a decline in temperatures accompanying cloudier conditions from early to midweek as a weak front pushes across the region. For many spots throughout the Southeast, temperatures will gradually trend near the historical average for Halloween, AccuWeather forecasters say.
Locations along the southeastern coast of Florida, such as Ghost Cove and Dismal Key, may have a few showers crossing the region into Halloween night. Damp and cooler weather can spread across the South Central states early next week as well. Widespread highs in the 60s are expected along the Louisiana Gulf Coast as highs will be in the 50s across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles by Tuesday.
Farther north across the Plains and Midwest, an even chillier day is in store as an Arctic air mass plunges southward from Canada.
The primary pattern across the northern Plains early next week will be governed by a zone of high pressure anchored over the region. As this feature continues to circulate very cold air southward from Canada from late this week into early next week, temperatures are forecast to be anywhere between 10 and 20 degrees below the historical averages for late October.
"The fall chill is expected to settle in across the entirety of the Midwest by early next week. Temperatures are also expected to fall well below historical averages across the Plains. Children in places like Chicago, Minneapolis and even Oklahoma City may want to consider wearing extra layers underneath their costumes to stay warm," Buckingham explained.
Widespread high temperatures in the 30s and 40s are projected to occur across the Midwest and Great Lakes region. Across portions of North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota, even lower values are anticipated with highs in the 20s.
However, in some locations of the northern Plains on Halloween evening, windy conditions may combine with low temperatures to make it less than ideal for young trick-or-treaters to be wandering around the neighborhood.
"Although it will be chilly across the Midwest, an area of high pressure settling in should promote largely dry conditions. One exception to that may be downwind of the Great Lakes where there may be a few snowflakes flying through the air," Buckingham said.
It will be a cold day in Hell, Michigan, with a high temperature predicted to reach into only the upper 30s to near 40 F, roughly 10-15 degrees below the historical average for the area.
The pattern across the Western states will generally trend cooler and drier than at the start of this week when the first notable snowfall event of the season spread across the Cascades, northern Rockies and northern Plains.
A sweater may be needed for any residents of Casper, Wyoming, attending pumpkin-picking festivities or costume parties as temperatures will remain several degrees below the historical average, but nearby high pressure may help to promote dry weather.
People in Tombstone, Arizona, will have noticeably cooler conditions early next week compared to late this week. Temperatures may fall to the 60s by Tuesday, compared to the 80s forecast for Friday and Saturday.
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