Tricks and Treats: A look back at Halloween weather.
By Mark Shafer
Staff Climatologist
The Oklahoma Climatological Survey
Oct 29, 2001

On most fall days, you never know what weather to expect. Typical of late fall, temperatures may be in the 80s one day and in the 50s the next. Halloween is no exception. Looking back at the last 50 years or so, Oklahoma's Halloweens have seen their share of heat and cold, wet and dry.

Overall, only about one out of five years has recorded significant precipitation during Halloween. Years with precipitation range from only 6% of the years out in the Panhandle to just over a quarter of years in the east. The wettest year at many places across the state was 1998, although Durant, which holds the state record for the wettest Halloween with 5.35 inches, set its record in 1974.

Typical temperatures for October 31 are the upper-60s to low-70s for daytime highs and mid- to upper-40s for nighttime lows. The warmest Halloween temperature on record was 90 degrees, set at Durant and Ardmore in 1934. Most places in Oklahoma, however, set their records in 1950, when upper 80s were commonplace across the state. The coolest temperature on record for Halloween is 15 degrees, set at Goodwell in 1991 and at Clinton and Ponca City in 1993. Teens were common across the state in 1993, which set the mark as the coldest Halloween at many locations statewide. 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.

There even has been a bit of snow during some Halloweens. The heaviest snowfall was in 1991, when Woodward recorded two inches and Goodwell reported 0.4 inch. A trace of snow was reported during other years at Enid, Clinton, Oklahoma City, and Ponca City.

Notes on the Following Tables:

  • Data are displayed below for selected cities across Oklahoma.
  • Goodwell data are used instead of Guymon data because of insufficient climate records for Guymon.
  • "Significant rainfall" is defined as one-tenth of an inch or more.
  • "Jacket weather" is defined as the percentage of days with a minimum temperature of 45 degrees or less (i.e., likely to be in the 50s to near 60 in the evening).

    • GOODWELL (1948-2000)
    Average High 66 F
    Average Low 36 F
    Record High 87 F (1950)
    Record Low 15 F (1991)
    Jacket Weather 47 of 50 years (94%)
    Significant Rainfall 3 of 50 years (06%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 1.19" (1961)
    Snowfall trace (1960, 1979), 0.4" (1991)
     
    WOODWARD (1948-2000)
    Average High 68 F
    Average Low 40 F
    Record High 87 F (1950)
    Record Low 23 F (1954)
    Jacket Weather 39 of 53 years (73%)
    Significant Rainfall 10 of 53 years (19%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 3.21" (1998)
    Snowfall trace (1951), 2.0" (1991)
     
    ENID (1894-2000)
    Average High 67 F
    Average Low 44 F
    Record High 87 F (1938)
    Record Low 17 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 52 of 99 years (53%)
    Significant Rainfall 23 of 99 years (23%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 3.52" (1998)
    Snowfall trace (1929)
     
    CLINTON (1948-2000)
    Average High 68 F
    Average Low 43 F
    Record High 86 F (1950)
    Record Low 15 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 28 of 52 years (54%)
    Significant Rainfall 10 of 52 years (19%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 1.98" (1998)
    Snowfall trace (1967, 1972)
     
    ALTUS (1948-2000)
    Average High 70 F
    Average Low 45 F
    Record High 88 F (1982)
    Record Low 17 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 27 of 51 years (53%)
    Significant Rainfall 11 of 51 years (22%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 1.43" (1998)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    LAWTON (1948-2000)
    Average High 69 F
    Average Low 46 F
    Record High 88 F (1950)
    Record Low 24 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 25 of 49 years (51%)
    Significant Rainfall 9 of 49 years (18%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 3.16" (1972)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    ARDMORE (1901-2000)
    Average High 72 F
    Average Low 48 F
    Record High 90 F (1934)
    Record Low 20 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 38 of 95 years (40%)
    Significant Rainfall 18 of 95 years (19%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 4.72" (1974)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    OKLAHOMA CITY (1948-2000)
    Average High 67 F
    Average Low 46 F
    Record High 84 F (1948)
    Record Low 16 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 25 of 52 years (48%)
    Significant Rainfall 10 of 52 years (19%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 1.82" (1972)
    Snowfall trace (1991)
     
    PONCA CITY (1948-2000)
    Average High 66 F
    Average Low 45 F
    Record High 88 F (1950)
    Record Low 15 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 26 of 53 years (49%)
    Significant Rainfall 10 of 53 years (19%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 2.08" (1998)
    Snowfall trace (1951, 1991)
     
    TULSA (1948-2000)
    Average High 68 F
    Average Low 48 F
    Record High 87 F (1950)
    Record Low 18 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 21 of 52 years (40%)
    Significant Rainfall 11 of 52 years (21%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 3.12" (1981)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    MIAMI (1948-2000)
    Average High 67 F
    Average Low 45 F
    Record High 86 F (1950)
    Record Low 17 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 26 of 50 years (52%)
    Significant Rainfall 14 of 50 years (28%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 1.85" (1979)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    MCALESTER (1953-2000)
    Average High 70 F
    Average Low 48 F
    Record High 86 F (1977)
    Record Low 19 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 19 of 45 years (42%)
    Significant Rainfall 11 of 45 years (24%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 2.44" (1981)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    DURANT (1901-2000)
    Average High 72 F
    Average Low 47 F
    Record High 90 F (1934)
    Record Low 20 F (1993)
    Jacket Weather 42 of 94 years (45%)
    Significant Rainfall 25 of 94 years (27%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 5.35" (1974)
    Snowfall none on record
     
    IDABEL (1948-2000)
    Average High 71 F
    Average Low 47 F
    Record High 85 F (1950)
    Record Low 25 F (1980)
    Jacket Weather 21 of 51 years (41%)
    Significant Rainfall 12 of 51 years (24%)
    Heaviest Rainfall 2.70" (1979)
    Snowfall none on record