Chilly, wet weather expected this Halloween in Austin
Wet weather expected on Halloween
Halloween is just one week away, and in Central Texas it looks like mother nature may not cooperate this year. The expected wet weather could make trick-or-treating a little treacherous. FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak has some advice for families on keeping your kids safe.
AUSTIN, Texas - After years of stellar Halloween weather in Central Texas, our luck may have run out this Halloween. FOX 7 Meteorologist Carlo Falco says we can expect it to be chilly, breezy and damp—thanks to an approaching cold front.
"It looks like we'll have not steady rain, but off and on. Little sprinkles, rain showers, mist and drizzle throughout most of the day on Halloween and through Halloween night," said Falco.
That dicey weather could make for treacherous conditions for trick or treaters--especially if they're walking along or crossing busy streets.
"I think mist would be the worst possible situation for trick-or-treating time, simply because it's not rainy enough to cancel everything, but it's also wet enough to get the combination of poor visibility, slippery roadway conditions and people out doing their Halloween thing," said Falco.
MORE: Halloween horror: Bone-chilling blast of cold air to arrive in time for trick-or-treating
CDC data shows pedestrian strikes tend to quadruple on Halloween. Last year, October saw the most pedestrian deaths in Texas. A third of those October deaths were children 12 to 15.
Add in wet roads and bad visibility, Stewart Williams, Injury Prevention Coordinator with Dell Children’s Medical Center, says families should plan ahead.
Trick-or-treat pedestrian safety tips
With Halloween just around the corner, it's important to keep in mind that there will be plenty of spooky creatures roaming the streets. This is why Safe Kids, along with its partners, is urging parents to have a serious talk with their children about trick-or-treat safety. Kari Kuwamura with Ghisallo Cycling Initiative joins us with more.
"It’s a little bit cloudy or damp, it's going to get darker a lot quicker," said Williams. "There might be some fogginess in the area, and that could also obscure some additional visibility."
To help with that, Williams encourages trick-or-treaters to wear bright costumes, and "to have some sort of reflective material on your costumes or on your person or carry some sort of light."
It’s also important to travel in groups.
MORE: The most popular Halloween costumes of 2023, according to Google
"If your costume has a mask, Williams says, "Remove the mask so that you can visibly see what's around you and what traffic is coming and so forth."
If you’re out driving on those wet roads: slow down, be vigilant and have your headlights on.
"Children are unpredictable. And even with the best supervision, there can still be risks of them darting out on the road," said William