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October 25, 2010   October 25, 2010   October 25, 2010   October 25, 2010


Halloween 1991: The Weather Outside Was Frightful!

Frightening sights are customary on Halloween. All manner of ghosts, goblins
and other ghoulish doppelgangers are frequently seen on that spooky night. A
multitude of horror movies, both good and bad, have been dedicated to the
macabre holiday. So it should be no surprise that Mother Nature managed to
scare up a new twist for Oklahoma in 1991, as Jack Frost and Old Man Winter
took the place of the Great Pumpkin. Unfortunately, for those trick-or-treaters
dressed as anything other than an Eskimo or Wolfman, frozen caramel apples and
soggy popcorn balls were little comfort against the wintry chill.

The week started on a pleasant note with sunny skies heralding temperatures in
the 60s and 70s on the 28th. An unusually strong arctic cold front was
barreling down from the north, however, reaching Oklahoma early on the 29th.
Temperatures dropped immediately into the 20s in the northwest behind the front
as snow began to fall. Twelve inches accumulated in Boise City by the 30th as
the rest of northwest Oklahoma garnered between two and five inches.
Temperatures struggled to eclipse the 20s and 30s for the next several days,
culminating in a dreary, miserable Halloween weekend.

Snowfall, in inches, on October 30, 1991



A combination of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and just plain old torrential
rainfall made for treacherous conditions on Halloween day. Most of the state
was placed under some type of winter weather advisory by the National Weather
Service, while the southeast was under alert for flash flooding. For the most
part, the precipitation had ended by dusk, but by then the damage was done. By
the time trick-or-treating was to have begun in earnest, temperatures in the
20s and strong northerly winds combined to drop wind chill temperatures down to
single digits.

High (red) and low (blue) temperatures on October 31, 1991



Winter storm warnings were posted for the Panhandle and western Oklahoma with
localized reports of up to five inches of snow having fallen. Ice and sleet
covered the ground farther east. Much of Weatherford was without power in the
early morning due to ice-coated tree limbs disrupting power lines. Sleet was
reported to have covered the ground in that area as well. Interstate 40 in
western Oklahoma was down to one lane from Oklahoma City to the Texas state
line due to deteriorating travel conditions.

And the Cold Played On

The cold lingered for several more days as the center of the arctic high moved
south, finally settling over Oklahoma on Saturday, November 2. The state?s
college football fans were as dismayed as the erstwhile trick-or-treaters from
two nights past as they stayed away in droves from home football games in
Norman and Stillwater. Only 37,000 showed up for the Sooners? game versus
Kansas State, and half of those left at halftime as snow began to fall. The
story was much the same for the Cowboys game against Kansas. Only 18,000 fans
braved the 24 degree temperature at kickoff, and only a few hundred stayed
through the snow until the final gun sounded. Oklahoma City?s high temperature
of 26 degrees was the coldest maximum temperature on record for that day and
location, and also the coldest high temperature for that early in the season.

High (red) and low (blue) temperatures on November 1, 1991



The Weather of Halloweens Past

Overall, about one out of five years has recorded significant precipitation
during Halloween. Years with precipitation range from six percent of the years
out in the Panhandle to just over a quarter of years in the east. Typical
temperatures for Halloween are the upper-60s to low-70s for daytime highs and
mid- to upper-40s for nighttime lows. Young trick-or-treaters need jackets
about half of the time across most of the state, but those in the northwestern
parts could use a jacket almost every year.

For this Halloween's spooky forecast, be sure to check in with the ghouls at
your local NWS office. The weather looks frighteningly good this weekend.

Norman:                         http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/
Tulsa:                          http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tulsa/
Amarillo (OK Panhandle):        http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/
Shreveport (McCurtain County):  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/shv/


Gary McManus
Associate State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey
(405) 325-2253
gmcmanus@mesonet.org