Climate Matters•October 25, 2023•Reuse this content
Halloween Extremes & Warming October Nights
KEY CONCEPTS
Fall temperatures have warmed by 2.7°F on average across the U.S. since 1970.
Fall warming can extend allergy and wildfire smoke seasons, and disrupt leaf-peeping.
Warming trends have also taken the chill out of a fall tradition: trick-or-treating.
From 1970 to 2022, October nights have warmed by 2.2°F on average across the U.S.
Of 244 U.S. cities analyzed, 216 (89%) have seen October nights warm up since 1970.
October nights have warmed by more than 2°F in 153 of the locations analyzed.
Graphics also show each city’s record warmest, coldest, and rainiest Halloween.
Click to download the data (CSV)
METHODOLOGY
October minimum temperatures from 1970-2022 were retrieved from the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS). Local Halloween climate extremes were also retrieved from ACIS, but included each station’s entire period of record. Climate Central's local analyses include 247 stations, however only 244 stations are included in reported data summaries based on linear trends due to large data gaps in Dothan, Ala.; Hazard, Ky.; and Wheeling, W.Va.
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