Halloween Climate Information

Halloween in the Black Hills region has a reputation of being a cold, stormy night. But do the weather records support this claim?

Rapid City has recorded precipitation 26 times in over 130 years and reported snow only 12 years. The greatest snowfall measured in town on October 31 was 5.6 inches of snow in 1920. Gillette has had precipitation on Halloween 18 times and snow has occurred 12 times. The deepest snow was five inches in 1928 and 1920. Lead is more likely to have moisture on Halloween: Precipitation has been measured 29 times in 110 years and snow has fallen 19 times. Trick-or-treaters had to trudge through more than a foot of snow in 1996. Winner and Lemmon have had fewer wet and white Halloweens, but the greatest snow depths are nine and ten inches, respectively.

Most of the temperature records were set recently. Rapid City, Lead, and Gillette set their October 31 record highs in 1999—with a 12 degree difference among the cities. Winner's and Lemmon's record highs were reached in 1990. In 1991, many temperatures dipped below zero behind a powerful snowstorm that moved across the Midwest.

The following tables show climate information for Rapid City, Lead, Gillette, Winner and Lemmon on Halloween, as well as the weather at the Rapid City Airport for the past ten years. Average highs are in the low to mid 50s, with average lows around 30.

The past ten years at the Rapid City airport have been dry, with just a trace of rain in 2017 and 2013. Halloween at the airport was right at normal temperatures in 2018.

This data shows October weather is highly-variable as the seasons transition from fall to winter. Because conditions can change drastically from day to day, keep track of the forecast and prepare for whatever elements are predicted this Halloween.

Temperature (F)	Rapid City*	Lead	Gillette	Winner	Lemmon
Highest	81 in 1999	69 in 1999	75 in 1999	83 in 2007, 1990	76 in 1990
Lowest	-2 in 1991	-1 in 1935	-4 in 1991	9 in 1991, 1935	-2 in 1991
Average High	55	50	53	56	51
Average Low	29	30	29	32	29
Precipitation (in.)	Rapid City	Lead	Gillette	Winner	Lemmon
Max Precip.	0.81 in 1920	0.92 in 1974	1.43 in 1974	1.50 in 1979	0.55 in 2000
Days Measured Precip.	26 times or 20%	29 times or 27%	18 times or 16%	14 times or 13%	15 times or 14%
Max Snowfall	5.6 in 1920	7.0 in 1920	5.0 in 1928, 1920	7.5 in 1995	5.0 in 1929
Days Measured Snow	12 times or 11%	19 times or 17%	12 times or 10%	6 times or 6%	6 times or 6%
Max Snow Depth	3 in 1991, 2003	14 in 1996	4 in 1989, 1923	9 in 1929	10 in 1991
Year Records Began	1888	1909	1902	1910	1909

* Precipitation, records, and frequencies for Rapid City were compiled from the office’s three locations: The original downtown Weather Bureau Office (WBO) data from 1888-1942; the airport data began in 1942, and the East Rapid City Weather Forecast Office (WFO) started in 1996.

Weather at the Rapid City Airport for the previous 10 Halloweens
Date	High Temperature (F)	Low Temperature (F)	Average Temperature (F)	Precipitation (in.)	Snowfall (in.)	Snow Depth (in.)
2018	55	27	41	0.00	0.0	0
2017	50	12	31	T	0.0	0
2016	76	42	55	0.00	0.0	0
2015	66	35	50.5	0.00	0.0	0
2014	53	30	41.5	0.00	0.0	0
2013	54	27	40.5	T	0.0	0
2012	73	34	53.5	0.00	0.0	0
2011	71	29	50.0	0.00	0.0	0
2010	62	36	49.0	0.00	0.0	0
2009	63	38	50.5	0.00	0.0	0