Halloween weather: Maps show who will see snow, rain or sunshine

by Alix Martichoux - 10/30/23 12:55 PM ET

(NEXSTAR) – While Wisconsin kids could find themselves trudging through snow to trick or treat on Halloween this year, kids in Florida may need to slather on sunscreen first.

The weather on Tuesday is all over the place, depending on where you live. Freeze warnings were in place Monday morning across the Southwest and Midwest, but the frigid weather is set to move further north by Tuesday.

An outlook map released Monday by the National Weather Service shows the upper Midwest and Great Lakes states hovering around freezing throughout the day on Halloween.

A National Weather Service map shows high temperatures forecast for the country on Oct. 31, 2023. (Map: NOAA)

And there’s no need to wait for a white Christmas – millions of people could see their first snow of the season arrive on Halloween.

Chicago is expecting snow showers, while central Wisconsin could see a few inches.

Other parts of the country are still thawing out after a weekend of wintery weather. Parts of Colorado saw more than 10 inches of snow over the weekend. The Dakotas and Upper Plains were also hit with heavy snow last week.

The weather couldn’t be more different down south in Florida, where kids might be overheating in their elaborate costumes. The high in Tampa is expected to be 87 degrees on Tuesday.

Rain is also possible for parts of Texas, the Gulf states and parts of the East Coast.

A National Weather Service forecast map, issued on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, shows where snow and rain are most likely on Halloween. (Map: NOAA)

Extreme weather had already impacted Halloween long before the snow rolled in. Record-breaking heat over the summer threatened pumpkin crops around the country.

“It’s one of the worst years we’ve had in several years,” said Mark Carroll, a Texas A&M extension agent for Floyd County, which he calls the “pumpkin capital” of the state. Not only did the hot, dry weather surpass what irrigation could make up for, but pumpkins also need cooler weather to be harvested or they will start to decompose during the shipping process, sometimes disintegrating before they even arrive at stores.

America’s pumpkin powerhouse, Illinois, had a successful harvest on par with the last two years, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau. But this year, it was so hot into the harvest season in Texas that farmers had to decide whether to risk cutting pumpkins off the vines at the usual time or wait and miss the start of the fall pumpkin rush.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.