Heat is on for Halloween as record temperatures forecast for much of US

Parts of north-east and Great Lakes regions to surpass 80F as thunderstorms predicted from Indianapolis to Louisiana

Do the undead sweat? If they do, this year’s Halloween could be a taxing time for them across parts of the north-east and Great Lakes regions of the US, where temperatures are set to soar above 80F (27C) in some areas.

On Thursday, CNN reported that nearly 50 daily high temperature records may fall, with temperatures rising more than 20F above normal.

For some, Halloween this year will feel more like it’s falling in late summer, rather than late October.

Temperatures could hit 80F in Boston, the network noted, potentially marking the city’s second hottest Halloween ever. The previous record was set in 1946 at 81F (27C). Notably, the average for this time of year is around 57F (14C). In Philadelphia temperatures will hit 81F.

New York City is also slated to maybe break records and hit 80F. Typically, the average temperature in New York during this period is about 59F (15C). Washington DC could reach 80F, tying it for the third hottest Halloween.

Elsewhere around the country, trick-or-treaters face different conditions.

Strong to severe thunderstorms, including damaging winds, are possible from Indianapolis south to Shreveport, Louisiana, late on Thursday. In Duluth, Minnesota, and across higher elevations of the Cascades and Rockies they may need snow boots.

The unusual heat in the north-east comes as the climate crisis has become a non-topic on the presidential campaign trail after it briefly surfaced following two fast-developing hurricanes, Milton and Helene, devastated parts of the south-east in September and October.

Parts of the US, including New York City, Atlanta, Nashville, Philadelphia and Dallas, have not seen measurable rain throughout October. Drought concerns are elevated across the Great Plains and midwest.

According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, 66% of the midwest is under at least a moderate drought (D1). In the Plains, 72% of the region is in a drought. Overall, nearly half of the country is in some form of drought. States such as Texas, Oklahoma and the larger deep south could see droughts worsen throughout the winter, forecasters say.

If no rain falls in Philadelphia over the next 48 hours, it would be the first time the city would record no rain in a calendar month since records began in 1871.

Drought conditions may not necessarily improve, as La Niña is forecast to develop in the Pacific – a condition that typically brings cooler and wetter weather to the Pacific north-west, upper Rocky Mountains and Great Plains, and drier, milder conditions across southern US states and often California, and wet, snowy winters to New York and New England.

But the developing La Niña is forming weakly, throwing predictions off. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects La Niña to emerge sometime before the end of November allowing other weather patterns, including the North Atlantic Oscillation to remain dominant.

Or La Niña may not come, lending to difficulties forecasting energy demand and affecting farmers’ projections of crop yields based on rain and snow fall.

Cover photo: People walk in the sunshine in Harlem, New York City, on Wednesday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images