INDIANA, USA — We still have a few days before Halloween, but there are some rain chances for October 31st across Indiana mostly during the daylight hours. This is our early look at rain chances for Indiana on Halloween, plus the timing and rainfall total expectations.
Tap HERE to track our Halloween cold front that has arrived in the Rockies with our interactive radar.
(Note: Expect some changes as we get closer to Halloween. This is forecast is to help with early planning. We have more details below.)
Quick forecast snapshot
Expect scattered showers to start from west to east across Indiana 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Rain chances will linger the rest of the daylight hours. By sunset, there may be some clearing and drying skies in the west. Eastern Indiana may still have some rain. (Scroll down for multiple rain zone maps)
Big warm-up before the rain
Highs will be reaching near record temperatures this week. Records are in the low 80s and that's where we are heading Tuesday and Wednesday.
Southwest winds may gust up to 30-40 MPH, bringing very warm air this week. The cold front stops that on Thursday, which is also Halloween, Oct. 31.
Hoosiers need this rain. October has been warm and dry. In fact central Indiana is on track for its driest October on record, but it all comes down to Halloween. If we get 0.08" of rain, we will at least tie the record. Anything less, 2024 will be the driest on record.
Right now we think much of Indiana will at least get a 0.1" to 0.2" of rain, so hopefully we don't set a record. We may still end up in the top 5 or top 10 for driest Octobers.
Timing the Halloween rain chances (Early look)
Wednesday should stay dry for Indiana. A corridor of rain and storms will develop in the Plains and Ozarks. This rain will arrive in Indiana during the morning on Thursday.
The severe threats of the line of storms should be weaker once it gets into Indiana as the whole weather pattern stretches over a longer distance. The low pressure will be centered near Lake Superior and the front will extend south to Texas. Usually at that length, the upper levels do not align with surface level conditions to create robust severe weather.
At worst, we are expecting some rumbles of thunder and pockets of wind.
Dry: Wednesday (Oct. 30)
Wet: Thursday Halloween (Oct. 31)
Dry: Friday (Nov. 1)
Rain zones: 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Halloween
The rain will start in Northwest Indiana, thanks to the tilt of the cold front. There may be some in eastern Indiana who have to wait for rain later in the day.
Rain zones: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Halloween
The midday and afternoon hours look to be the wettest hours of the Halloween holiday. It may not rain constantly, but expect scattered showers through the day. It may be wet for recess and the commute home from work and school
Rain zones: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Halloween
Rain starts to exit much of the state near sunset and around trick-or-treating time. We may start to clear out with some sun rays later in the day west of Indianapolis. However watch for some extra lake-effect clouds from Lake Michigan.
Areas east and south of Indianapolis may still have some lingering rain in the evening.
We will adjust these rain zones as needed. We may be off by 2-3 hours, but generally expect showers during the daylight hours of Halloween Thursday.
How much rain can we expect on Halloween?
All trends show a decent amount of rain coming our way. It may only be 10% of what we need to fix the drought, but we'll take anything. The highest rainfall totals may be in southwestern Indiana.
As the system pushes east, it will slowly weaken.
Halloween Impacts
While some Hoosiers may dry out eventually Halloween late afternoon and evening, keep in mind that there may still be some rain or wet sidewalks during trick-or-treating time.
You may want to make sure your costume can get a little wet.
Looking ahead
Drier and cooler conditions will move in for Friday and the weekend. We may drop to some 60s temporarily. Northwest winds will blow to wrap up the week. Some lake-effect clouds will move in on Friday, especially north and west of Indianapolis.
— 13News Meteorologist Matt Standridge