Halloween is less than two weeks away!  Can you believe it? Time to get your costumes picked, your candy bagged, your children calmed, and your forecast covered.  That’s where we come in. The meteorologists of CNYcentral are always looking ahead to the next seven days. However, we can also give a general idea of the weather pattern as far as two weeks away. Before giving specific details on what to expect for Halloween 2010, let’s look at weather history and see what is normal and what is extreme in our area on October 31^st since records have been kept back through 1902.

Here are some basic weather facts for Syracuse’s climate on October 31^st: The normal high (which typically occurs during the middle of the afternoon) is 54°.  The normal low (which typically occurs around sunrise) is 36°.  The all important sunset is 5:58 PM.  As a side note, daylight saving time remains in effect now all the way through October.  It changes back to standard time Sunday November 7^th.

Here are some weather extremes for Syracuse for Halloween: The record high temperature for October 31^st is 75° set in 2003.  The record low temperature is 20° set back in 1925.  This gives you an idea of the general range of temperatures that can be expected on Halloween. However, as you know, records can be broken.  The coldest daytime high for the day was 34° set in 1917. The warmest nighttime low temperature is 61° set in 1942. If you are wondering about snow, it can and has happened before on Halloween.  The snowiest October 31^st was way back in 1906 when 3.7” of snow occurred.  The wettest Halloween was in 1976 when 0.84” of rain fell.

Now to specifics, there are not that many computer models that look two weeks in advance.  However, we can use what has happened recently locally, plus that computer model as a guide to look ahead.  In general, so far, October has averaged very close to normal with only some small day to day variations in temperatures.  While we have had some above normal and below normal days, there has not been anything very extreme one way or the other.  The warmest day was October 8^th when we reached 73°. The coldest temperature occurred on October 13^th when it hit 35°.  Our official forecast for the next 7 days shows an overall trend of near to just slightly below normal temperatures.  The coldest day appears to be Friday October 22^nd.  This is due to a trough of cooler temperatures that will continue at the jet stream level.  Between Sunday October 23^rd and Thursday October 28^th, a ridge of warmer temperatures may try and push into our area. However, early indications show that trough of near to slightly below normal temperatures may return in time for Sunday October 31^st. This would translate into afternoon temperatures in the 50°s and evening temperatures in the 40°s.  Assuming this occurs, an initial assessment of Halloween’s weather would be a combination of clouds and sunshine with a chance for a spotty shower during the day and the best chance for a shower Halloween evening occurring northeast of Lake Ontario near Jefferson county and possibly Saint Lawrence county and the Tug Hill Plateau.  Keep in mind that the exact weather forecast will likely change as systems tend to speed up or slow down even just 5 to 7 days away.  Remember this is a 13 day forecast and will be subject to change.  We will keep you posted as Halloween gets closer.

Don’t forget that you can look at great pictures of Halloween Homes section on our MyCNYcentral section of our website  You can view and upload images yourself.  As you know, each picture is worth a thousand words. So, let’s see the photos fly. Visit MyCNYcentral right now and share with us some of those spooky homes and decorations that you either made yourself or you have seen travelling across central New York.

Did you add a picture or video to our MyCNYcentral page?   If so, let me know by commenting on this web story at the bottom of this web page.

For more on your weather forecast, click on “Weather” and then the “Live Triple Doppler Radar” tab on our weather page.  Make sure you refresh the Doppler radar to see the very latest information, as well.  Furthermore, we have our new Interactive Doppler Radar on our website.  You can zoom down to street level with Interactive Doppler Radar.  You are in total control of where the radar can zoom in.  Give it a try.  Plus, click on our Severe Weather Tab and our Watches and Warnings map to see the very latest county specific watches and warnings.  In addition, you can “follow” along with me on Twitter by either clicking on the “follow” button on the Twitter section of our weather page or by visiting www.twitter.com/PeteWeatherBeat.