Weather outlook for Halloween and trick-or-treating in Columbus, central Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The weather at the end of October can range from late summer to early winter conditions, creating challenges for your outdoor plans, and how to dress the youngsters for trick-or-treating.

Looking ahead to Halloween this week, skies will turn overcast by midday on Thursday, with late afternoon periods of rain that will linger through the evening hours. Temperatures will reach the mid-70s, then fall back through the 60s by the start of trick-or-treat activities.

Halloween weather, not surprisingly, can be quite variable in central Ohio. The average temperature on Oct. 31 in Columbus ranges from a morning reading in the upper 30s to an afternoon temperature near 60 degrees. But those are just the averages.

The warmest Halloween in Columbus occurred in 1950, when the maximum temperature hit 83 degrees. The coldest afternoon on Oct. 31 saw a high of only 38 degrees in 1906. (Columbus records date to 1879.)

Last year, we experienced snow flurries on Halloween, with temperatures only reaching the mid-40s. The snowiest Oct. 31 occurred in 1993 (1 inch), followed by 1954 (0.2 inch). Flurries (traces of snow) were seen on Halloween in 2019, 2012, 1951, 1930, 1926, 1917 and 1906.

Halloween 2019 was the wettest, with 1.51 inches of rain, followed by 1932 (1.44 inches), 2009 (1.28 inches) and 2013 (0.98 inch).

The weather this week will be unseasonably warm Tuesday and Wednesday, with near-record warmth, as temperatures climb to around 80 degrees under sunny skies, with the help of gusty southwesterly winds.

A cold front will arrive from the west later in the day on Thursday, bringing a chance for rain in an exceptionally dry month--only .23 inch of rain has fallen in Columbus in October (third driest on record). Cooler and dry weather will follow heading into next weekend in the wake of the storm system.