GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Halloween is less than a week away, with eyes turning to the forecast to see if it’ll be a trick or a treat across West Michigan.
While the exact details of this Halloween’s forecast are still uncertain, there’s a silver lining: We won’t see a repeat of last year, when heavy snow caused power outages and canceled trick-or-treating in several lakeshore communities.
The uncertainty this Halloween centers around the chance of rain and whether its timing will impact trick-or-treaters.
FORECAST
Leading up to Halloween, a notable late October warmup is expected with temperatures soaring into the 70s Tuesday & Wednesday – this will be approaching record high temperatures for Oct. 29 and 30.
The warmth will come at a cost, as a tight pressure gradient across the Great Lakes will bring strong winds. Current expectations are for southerly gusts to exceed 30 mph on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the potential for gusts over 40 mph.
On Thursday (Halloween), a cold front is expected to press into the region sometime during the daytime hours, increasing the chance of rain. There are two scenarios at this point based on the timing of the cold front.
The first scenario involves the cold front arriving earlier and moving through faster on Thursday. Rain would be likelier in the morning, with a lesser chance by the evening. The earlier arrival would allow winds to relax throughout the day but would result in cooler temperatures — temperatures falling into the 40s — by trick-or-treat time as the wind direction shifts to the north.
The second scenario is a later arrival of the cold front on Thursday, and slowly progressing through West Michigan. Temperatures would be much warmer – potentially another day in the 70s – but strong winds would persist throughout the day. The chance of rain, potentially thunderstorms, would increase during trick-or-treat time.
As of now, there’s no need to cancel trick-or-treat plans, but the forecast warrants more attention. The 13 ON YOUR SIDE Weather Impact Team will keep you updated as confidence in the forecast increases as Halloween approaches.
LAST YEAR
Halloween of 2023 was a downright trick as heavy, wet snow fell from late morning through the early evening, hitting the lakeshore the hardest. The snow piled up the most in the Muskegon and Holland areas, with snowfall reports exceeding 10”.
In Muskegon, the snowfall total was 8.8'', a record for Oct. 31, and the second-highest, single-day amount prior to Nov. 15. (On Nov. 14, 1908 Muskegon received 16.0".)
Snow was much lighter and less of an impact away from the lakeshore, but West Michigan experienced a chilly Halloween. Grand Rapids recorded a high temperature of 39°, the coldest Halloween since 1996.
HISTORY
On average, high temperatures on Halloween reach the middle 50s, with lows in the upper 30s.
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