2023-10-27 19:41:00
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There are few nights of the year when more people take to the streets than on Halloween. Children frolic through neighborhoods in hot pursuit of candy, parents and guardians chase after them hoping to manage their sugar highs, and millions find themselves outdoors for hours.
It’s a time when the weather forecast is of the utmost importance. Fortunately, the weather is looking mostly cooperative. Most of the Lower 48 will be dry except for portions of the Mid-Atlantic, where there could be some rain, and around the Great Lakes, where some snow showers are possible.
That said, it will be a cold one. Virtually the entire Lower 48, other than Florida and California, will face temperatures well below average, particularly over the Plains, where readings will plummet up to 30 degrees below the norm.
Despite temperatures over the weekend approaching record highs in the eastern United States, a dramatic change is on the way. Canadian high pressure is settling into the West, its leading edge demarcated by a cold front that’s swinging across the heartland. By early next week, the cold front will blast all the way to the Eastern Seaboard. D.C., for example, will be in the 80s this weekend, with highs in the mid-50s by Tuesday.
The cold front sagged through the Texas Panhandle on Friday morning in what locals colloquially call a “Blue Norther.” In Perryton, Tex., temperatures dropped from 64 to 48 degrees in 40 minutes. Winds suddenly gusted to 44 mph out of the north as the front blew through.
Light showers are ongoing ahead of the front, and that will be the trend these next few days. On Friday night, the cold front will stretch from Chicago to Dallas. By Saturday evening, it will progress to south of New York City to Philadelphia to Little Rock. The front’s progress will slow to a crawl, keeping the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast in the mild air on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday, the front will press southeastward, allowing the cool air to reach as far south as Georgia. But the front could get hung up along the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast coast late Tuesday, and some rain could develop along it.
Region-by-region trick-or-treating forecast
Temperatures will hover in the 20s for northern and western Maine, northern New Hampshire and northeast Vermont. Thirties dominate elsewhere, except 40s inside of Interstate 95 in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. There will be mostly clear skies in central New England and light winds with a bright moon. The “waning gibbous” moon will be 91 percent illuminated. Clouds will linger near the coast and over the Appalachians.
Some showers are probable in the eastern Mid-Atlantic, mainly in southeast Virginia and eastern North Carolina. Some models, such as the European, suggest more-widespread showers could expand to the north and west, with a wave of low pressure forming along the front.
Temperatures will settle in the upper 40s to around 50 east of I-95 and the lower 40s to the north and west after dropping during the afternoon and evening in the wake of a cold front. Lower 30s are expected in the Maryland Panhandle, parts of West Virginia and adjacent Pennsylvania.
Some showers are probable in the Carolinas, possibly extending in Georgia. Temperatures start in the 70s in Florida, the 60s in Georgia and southern South Carolina, the 50s over the Deep South and the 40s in North Carolina. Readings will tumble 10 degrees more over the remainder of the night. Expect clouds in Georgia and the Carolinas, with mostly clear skies in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Great Lakes, Ohio and Tennessee valleys
A few snow showers are possible in Wisconsin, western Michigan, northern Illinois and Indiana; otherwise, it will be mostly dry and clear. Temperatures in the 40s in Tennessee will drop into the 30s to the north and northwest with some 20s in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It will feel even colder, with blustery winds from the northwest.
Temperatures will be in the teens and 20s in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota, with 30s elsewhere. Skies will be mostly clear, but clouds will increase in southern Minnesota and Iowa, where some snow showers or flurries are possible.
Expect clear skies, except for a few clouds in South Texas. Temperatures will be in the 30s near and north of I-40 in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Forties to around 50 will dominate to the south, except mid-to-upper 50s near the Gulf Coast and Mexican border.
Temperature depend on elevation. Readings in the 20s will be prevalent in northern zones and/or higher elevations with 50s in the lowest valleys of New Mexico and Arizona. Otherwise, most folks will stay in the 30s and 40s. Highs will generally be 5 to 12 degrees below average. Skies will be clear in southern regions, with cloud cover surfing the jet stream and fanning over Montana, Idaho and northern Wyoming.
Clouds will predominate, except in the Great Basin of Nevada. Readings will be in the 70s in the Central Valley of California, the 60s in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and the 50s elsewhere.
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
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