Will Michigan's Halloween weather be a trick or a treat?
(CBS DETROIT) - What's scarier than things that go bump in the night on Halloween? Rain, snow, and cold temperatures during trick-or-treating. We've had scary weather for Halloween in the past, but are we in for a trick or a treat this year?
Halloween is steeped in tradition dating back hundreds of years, but trick-or-treating in the U.S., as we know it today, began in the 1930s. Looking at recorded weather data can give us an idea of what we can expect for Halloween this year and in the future.
Out of the last 150 years, Halloween in Metro Detroit has been rather mild overall. Fifty-three Halloween days have reached temperatures in the 50s, while 45 Halloweens have had temperatures in the 60s. For days only in the forties, we've reached 35 times. Thankfully, we've only had six Halloweens with highs in the 30s, while 11 Halloweens have been warm with temperatures in the 70s.
Our warmest Halloween was in 1933, with a high of 79 degrees. The coldest was in 1917, with a high of only 34 degrees.
In recent years, we've seen our wettest Halloween on record, set in 2013, with just over an inch and a half of precipitation. Our snowiest Halloween was just last year, with two-tenths of an inch reported.
We've only had nine Halloweens with a trace or more of snow. More Halloweens have been rainy rather than snowy, with a total of 83 Halloweens recording any precipitation at all and 67 dry Halloweens with no rain or snow.
Halloween is just days away, expected to treat us to mild temperatures so we'll be able to leave our winter coats at home this year. However, a frightful trick of rainy conditions could dampen our evening fun if the cold front doesn't push through quickly enough during the day. This means we might need to add an umbrella to our costumes.
