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Oct. 31, 2023 |  By: Farah Siddiqi - Public News Service

Some Missourians rethink Halloween due to climate extremes

halloween

By Farah Siddiqi - Public News Service

Tropical Storm Tammy has sprung back to life over the weekend, sending spooky fears of high winds for trick or treaters along the Eastern Seaboard.

Despite Tammy being the only tropical storm on the U.S. radars, meteorologists at Climate Central found climate extremes increasing and warming October overnight temperatures in 216 U.S. cities since 1970.

Lauren Casey, meteorologist for the nonprofit, said a wet Oct. 31 is also more common with the warming. St. Louis had a record snowfall on Halloween 2019.

"Warmer air holds more moisture," Casey explained. "And when we have more moisture in the atmosphere to be wrung out, we get these heavier rains, We're seeing heavier precipitation events, and they're coming more often."

Hurricane Helga was known as the Great Halloween Hurricane of 2019, as it slammed Florida on Halloween night. Helga sustained 100 mph winds with 120 mph gusts upon landfall. Power remained out until Nov. 3 and many trees suffered major damage.

Other than just cooler offerings instead of hot chili on Halloween, Casey added there are multiple implications to the warmer conditions. She pointed out a warmer fall season sees an increase in mosquitoes and is a disturbance especially for those with health concerns.

"Allergy season has been lengthened by about a month in many locations across the Midwest," Casey noted. "The extension of the allergy season, of course, can be a nuisance for some people who are sneezing and sniffling, but much more burdensome for people with other more serious respiratory issues like asthma."

Climate Central has a Halloween extreme temperature checker, and St. Louis shows having a 3.7-degree fluctuation, with temperatures from 26 to 88 degrees on Oct. 31 in the past 30 years.