Trick or Treat… or Wet Snow? Halloween Turns Cold Across NL
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The circulation around an area of low pressure continues to bring showers and rain to parts of Newfoundland this evening, while it’s colder in Labrador, with snow flurries and even a few showers. Southerly winds south of the warm front helped parts of Newfoundland surge into the mid-teens this afternoon, but that colder air in Labrador is going to play a big role in our weather for Halloween, with rain and snow in the forecast, yes, potentially for the trick-or-treaters.
Tonight
It turns quite cold in Lab West overnight, with lows near -7° to -8° in Wabush and Churchill Falls and close to -6° in the north. It’s not quite as chilly in the east and southeast of the Big Land, with a few flurries lingering. On Saturday, temperatures top out near or below the freezing mark for most of Labrador, without a lot of weather on the go.
On the Island, showers persist overnight in western Newfoundland, and rain takes hold in the east and southeast this evening. The rain on the Burin and Avalon Peninsulas continues until about midnight and may break for a bit after 6 AM Saturday, before a second batch of rain works in by mid-morning.
Halloween: rain to wet snow 🎃
Saturday will be chilly in central and western Newfoundland, with rain in the morning changing over to wet snow in the afternoon, especially near and east of the Bay d’Espoir Highway, but not onto the Avalon or the Bonavista Peninsula.
Here’s what’s happening. A weak area of low pressure sits near eastern Newfoundland and moves off to the northeast. By midday Saturday, winds in central Newfoundland and along the Northeast Coast are out of the north, pushing in colder air, and the rain flips to snow there, especially over the higher terrain. On the Avalon and in eastern areas, the wind stays southerly at first, but as the low pulls away, it switches to northerly after midday. That ends the bulk of the rain but keeps the showers going and brings a big drop in temperature. By midnight Saturday night, most of it is out of our hair.
Now, on the Avalon, you might see a high of 10° Saturday and think, “Great, a lovely night for trick-or-treating, even with the rain!” Don’t get too comfortable. That 10° comes around midday, and temperatures fall through the afternoon, down to 2° or 3° at trick-or-treat time, with northerly winds gusting to 60 km/h and a few showers or flurries still around.
How much rain and snow?
For southern and southeastern Newfoundland, 15 to 25 mm of rain is likely from tonight through early Sunday morning, with the highest amounts over the southeast Avalon and the Southern Shore, where upward of 25 mm is possible. I don’t think we’re anywhere close to 50 mm. Most of it falls tonight through mid-morning or midday Saturday.
The snow falls mainly during the second half of Saturday into Saturday night. Any amounts of 5 to 10 cm will be inland over the higher terrain. In the lower elevations, I’m not expecting much: 2 to 5 cm for Grand Falls-Windsor and Bishop’s Falls, and likely closer to 2 cm, mainly on grassy surfaces. Gander is very much the same, and it will vary with elevation. Lower areas will likely see a rain/wet snow mix, or just big, wet snowflakes. If you see that on Saturday, please send me your pictures and videos on Facebook or through my app!
Trick-or-treat forecast
In Labrador, temperatures will be near or below freezing at trick-or-treat time, and a little gusty. Across Newfoundland, wind chills at 6 to 7 PM will be between about -2° and -8°. I think most of the showers on the Avalon will be done by trick-or-treat time, but the chance isn’t 0%. Either way, plan on dressing warmly: layers, snowsuits, boots, gloves and hats. If not, you’ll be very uncomfortable!
Clocks fall back Sunday
Sunday, November 1, looks cold, with a few flurries over western Newfoundland and highs of only 1° to 4°. It’s also the day we switch back to standard time. At 2 AM Sunday, we fall back one hour. It’s a good time to change your smoke detector batteries and take care of anything else you do twice a year.
So what does that mean for sunset? On Saturday, the sun sets at 5:44 PM in St. John’s. On Sunday, it’s 4:43 PM. Other sunsets on Sunday: Corner Brook 5:00 PM, Gander 4:47 PM, Burgeo just after 5 PM, St. Anthony 4:45 PM, Goose Bay 4:28 PM, Labrador City 4:55 PM and Nain 4:23 PM.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about what would happen if we stopped changing the clocks and stayed on daylight saving time or standard time all year. In St. John’s, staying on standard time year-round would mean summer sunrises around 4 AM and the latest sunsets around 8 PM, with winter sunrises around 7:45 AM and sunsets around 4:10 PM, which is what we already get now. Staying on daylight saving time year-round wouldn’t change summer much, with sunrises around 5 AM and sunsets around 9 PM, but on the shortest days of winter, sunrise would be around 8:45 AM and sunset around 5:10 PM, and sunrise would be even later farther west.
For me, it’s a matter of preference. I don’t mind dark mornings, because I’m up at 5 or 5:30 and it’s already been dark in the mornings for a good while. I wouldn’t mind brighter evenings, but I understand that would mean kids going to school in the dark for longer. My kids already go to school before sunrise. I think I prefer later evenings, but I could be swayed with some data either way. I won’t die on that hill!
The 7-day outlook
After a cold Sunday at around 3°, it warms to near 8° on Monday, with wind in the east, then 4° or 5° Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance of showers on Thursday. Labrador looks pretty quiet the whole way through, with highs of 5° to 6° in the south, near freezing in the north, near or below freezing in the west, and just above freezing around Goose Bay. Other than Halloween, there’s no major weather in play for now.
Have a great Friday evening! I’ll have an update for you Saturday morning on Halloween.
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