Record warmth possible on Halloween in Philadelphia as dry stretch continues
It will feel more like summer than the last day of October Thursday as we will be chasing a record high of 82 set in 1946. That 82-degree record is the ONLY time Philadelphia has seen a high temperature in the 80s on Halloween since record-keeping began more than 150 years ago.
That warm air will be ahead of a cold front set to sweep through on Friday, bringing the chance for some much-needed rainfall. Though it doesn't look like enough to put a dent in the drought, it may put an end to this historic dry streak. In addition, it will drop the temps back down in the 70s Friday then low 60s on Saturday.
Beyond that, the lack of rain remains the top headline in weather for the region. Much of the area is now under a moderate to severe drought, which will likely be elevated to extreme drought for parts of the area next week when the next update arrives.
It's likely that October 2024 will go down in the record books as the driest month ever in Philadelphia history since records were started in the 1870s. Currently, our driest month is October of 1924 with only 0.09 inch of rain. This month, we have only had a trace and it doesn't look like we'll see much, if any, more.
If the showers on Friday fall apart before bringing measurable rain to the area, we will keep that dry stretch going. There's no rain in the forecast through the weekend and into next week, and we warm up again into the 70s for Election Day.
This weekend also brings the end of Daylight Saving Time! Set those clocks back an hour before you head to bed Saturday night. While "fall back" is generally thought to provide an extra hour of sleep, it also means the sunset time on Sunday will be at 4:55 p.m., and it will stay in the 4 o'clock hour until Jan. 15.
Little nugget of info — since summer began a little more than four months ago, we've lost nearly five hours of daylight!
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Thursday: Halloween heat, high of 82, low of 59
Friday: Shower chance, high of 79, low of 67
Saturday: Crisp and cool, high of 63, low of 47
Sunday: Sunny and cool, high of 63, low of 40
Monday: Partly sunny, high of 69, low of 47
Tuesday: Warm for voters, high of 76, low of 57
Wednesday: Clouds, some sun, high of 79, low of 64