Halloween Storm Brings Strong Winds, Heavy Rain For Trick-Or-Treaters
BOSTON (CBS) - Another "Halloween howler" on the way! This has been the decade of Halloween storms. Four times in the past nine years the weather has forced a significant number of towns to postpone trick-or-treating. Whether it was Snowtober back in 2011, Sandy in 2012, or a raucous wind event in 2017, it has been a decade full of Halloween havoc in the weather department.
And, right on cue, here we go again. Mother Nature is handing out another roll of pennies and bag of coal for this year. The same storm that dropped several inches of snow in the Chicago area Wednesday is set to arrive in New England on Thursday. While there won't be any snow here, there will be periods of rain and, more importantly, some very gusty winds.
Early Thursday will feature light to moderate rain showers - off and on kind of stuff. Likely nothing crazy enough to washout or cancel any school costume parades; just send the kids with an umbrella. The winds will get busier as the day wears on.
Wind forecast
Thursday morning: South 10-20 mph, gusts to 40 mph (mainly South Coast/Cape Cod).
Thursday afternoon: South 12-25 mph, gusts to 40 mph.
Thursday evening (trick or treat time): South 15-30 mph, gusts to 45 mph (isolated gusts of 50 mph).
Thursday overnight (including predawn hours on Friday): South 20-40 mph, gusts to 60 mph.
Friday morning (after 7 am): West 15-35 mph, gusts to 45 mph.
Friday afternoon: West 10-20 mph, gusts to 35 mph.
The wind will steadily lessen thereafter.
The peak of the storm will arrive between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. Friday; this is when the strongest winds and scattered downpours (perhaps even a rumble of thunder) will occur. There will likely be numerous reports of downed limbs and trees, as well as scattered power outages.
The rain amounts will be heaviest in northern New England, where they could receive 1 to 3 inches of water. In southern New England, most areas should stay under an inch. Therefore, no major flooding is expected locally.
Play it safe this Halloween! If you are heading out Thursday night, be aware of your surroundings. Watch for vehicles potentially skidding on wet leaves and also the chance of a wind gust bringing down some limbs.
For continued updates on the forecast tune to WBZ-TV, CBSBoston.com and CBSN Boston.
You can follow Terry on Twitter at @TerryWBZ.
