The chills and thrills of Halloween climatology
As October wraps up on a Friday, we also celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year, Halloween. Over the decades, Halloween has brought a wide range of weather to the St. Joseph area.
Each year, kids and adults put on costumes and head out to trick-or-treat and enjoy fall festivities. The average high temperature for Halloween in St. Joseph is about 61 degrees.
Looking back at some spooky weather statistics, the warmest Halloween on record was in 1950, when temperatures soared to a record-breaking 88 degrees. On the other end of the spectrum, the chilliest Halloween came in 1991 with an afternoon high of only 36 degrees.
The coldest Halloween low temperature, and ‘trick-or-treat’ time weather in St. Joseph was only two years ago, in 2023. Although the afternoon high reached 42 degrees, a blast of polar air dropped the mercury to 18 degrees by midnight.
Gusty winds also accompanied the frigid air, allowing wind chills to drop even lower. By sunrise on Nov. 1, St. Joseph set a daily record low of 15 degrees at Rosecrans Airport. This unforgiving shot of cold air was more of a trick than a treat, to say the least.
Overnight lows typically drop near 37 degrees, which can make evening trick-or-treating feel a bit chilly, so adding a few layers under those costumes is always a safe bet.
We’ve also seen our fair share of soggy Halloweens. One of the wettest was in 1974, when St. Joseph picked up 1.6 inches of rain on Halloween night. Thankfully, this year is shaping up to be dry with no spooky showers in the forecast.
This month began much warmer than normal, even briefly reaching the 90s. But as we close out October, temperatures have dipped well below average, and we’ve been stuck in a chilly stretch. Halloween this year looks to run slightly below normal, with highs in the mid- to upper 50s and lows dropping into the 30s.
Whether you’re out trick-or-treating or staying home to hand out candy, plan for a cool night and maybe add an extra layer to stay warm while celebrating the holiday.
