The tiny witches, dinosaurs and superheroes trick-or-treating Friday will stay dry, but will see their capes and other costumes blowing with some strong gusts.
New England will avoid most impacts from Hurricane Melissa, which made a jaw-dropping landfall as a Category 5 storm in New Hope, Jamaica Tuesday afternoon. It’s the strongest storm to ever strike the island. Melissa will go down in the record books for both pressure and wind speed.
Still, mariners off the New England coast will have to stay aware. Wave heights offshore will crank up to 10 to 20 feet by Friday into Saturday, especially around Georges Bank and Nova Scotia.
Rainfall timing in New England
Thursday will start relatively quiet. Though there may be some light showers here and there, expect several hours of dry weather.
The steadiest band of rain moves in from west to east between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday, filling in quick across southern and southeastern New England and lasting through the overnight. An isolated rumble of thunder can’t be ruled out and some localized poor drainage and street flooding is possible — especially with leaf clogged drains.
Expect rain to taper off early Friday morning as the dry slot of the storm moves in. In fact, the sun may even break out by mid morning. Clouds will build by the afternoon Friday with an isolated shower or sprinkle.
Most areas should see an inch of rain, but some higher amounts are possible on Cape Cod.
Windy Halloween forecast
As the storm exits Friday, it drags in some serious wind behind it. Expect decorations flying, leaves swirling and inflatables flopping.
Be prepared for gusts of 30 to 40 mph out of the west-southwest with even stronger wind on the Cape. That area could see isolated 50 mph gusts.
With the wind factored in, around trick-or-treat time it will feel about 40 degrees. Bundle up under those costumes! It’s a stark contract to last year’s near record warmth — 78 degrees in Boston on October 31, 2024.
Track the weather, anytime, anywhere with the free 1DegreeOutside weather app. Just search “1DegreeOutside Weather” in the App Store or Google Play.
About the Author
