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How WNY has weathered Halloweens of years past

From snow to temperatures in the 70s, Western New York has seen it all on the fall holiday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — With Halloween falling on the last day of October, and in the middle of fall, it's no surprise that the forecast for each Halloween can drastically change from year to year. From a few inches of snow to afternoon high temperatures in the 70s, Western New York has experienced something out of every season on October 31. 

This year's Halloween forecast includes a chilly morning with temperatures starting in the low-mid 40s and rising into the mid 50s in the afternoon. This actually makes for one of the more "seasonal" holidays of the year and for Halloween in general. Climatology shows that Buffalo's average high and low temperature for October 31 are 54 and 38 degrees, respectively. 

Now there's also rain in the forecast this Halloween Sunday, as a slow-moving low pressure system lifts out of the region. Two days prior, it'll bring showers for Friday and Saturday, but it should be moving out by Sunday afternoon and evening, also drying the forecast out with it. But rain or even snow wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the holiday. In fact, 23 of the past 31 Halloweens have had either rain or snow on the date. 

And of the past 30 years, only two have come within that range to define as a "usual" Halloween forecast wise. All others have been anything but. Below is a list of highlights from Halloween forecasts of the past 31 years.

The warmest Halloween since 1990 was on Friday, October 31, 2003. High temperatures reached 69 degrees on this mostly sunny and breezy day. On the flip side, the coldest Halloween of the past 31 years was on Sunday October 31, 1993 when high temperatures only reached 37 degrees. Western New York also received between 2 to 3 inches of snow that day. 

And 23 of the past 31 years have had either rain or snow fall on Halloween. The snowiest was in 1993 with an official recording of 2.8 inches of snow measured at the Buffalo Airport. The most snow ever recorded on Halloween was in 1917 with a snow total of 4 inches. 

The rainiest Halloween of the past 31 years and on record occurred just two years ago in 2019 with 1.43 inches of rain recorded that day, setting a new daily rainfall total too. The storm system that brought this rainfall also brought wind gusts near 60 mph, which caused localized power outages and downed many trees. All the above data is based on observations and records kept at the National Weather Service Office in Buffalo, NY at the Buffalo Airport. 

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