Keep those parka-accommodating costume modifications in storage this year — it’s a record-hot Halloween in the Ottawa area.
Petawawa broke its daily record of 20.6 C between 10 and 11 a.m. Thursday, and other communities such as Ottawa, Gatineau, Kingston and Maniwaki broke theirs soon after.
Some of the records set, according to Environment Canada’s preliminary data:
- 23.5 C in Maniwaki and Ottawa.
- 23.2 in Gatineau.
- 21.9 C in Petawawa.
- 21.5 in Trenton.
- 20.8 in Kingston.
Ottawa’s forecast high of 23 C was 1.5 degrees above the record from 1989 and 15 degrees above what was the normal Oct. 31 high from 1981 to 2010, according to Environment Canada.
The forecasted high in Los Angeles Thursday was also about 23 C, according to the National Weather Service around 8 a.m. It was 25 C in Dallas and 27 C in Miami.
Humidity made it feel like 27 at its hottest in the capital mid-afternoon and evening showers could have affected some trick-or-treat timing.
WATCH | Kids looked ahead to the Halloween heat:
Ottawa’s Halloween forecast sits at 23 C — 1.5 degrees above the record set in 1989. The CBC’s Natalia Goodwin spoke to kids and parents about what that means for this year’s trick-or-treating.
Several communities also set Oct. 30 heat records on Wednesday, including Ottawa at 22 C according to its hourly data and Kingston at 20.6 C.
Ottawa continues to be warmer than normal on a monthly basis: with October a sure thing to join that list, 10 of the last 12 months have been warmer than average. August hit the average on the head and November 2023 was cooler.
Part of the consequences of humans burning greenhouse gases for many decades is intensifying climate change, including rising temperatures and extreme weather.
Ottawa is expected to cool off Friday and Saturday before settling around average for the first full week of November.