Warm Halloween turns into a record-breaker in N.J. region

Mother Nature tricked us into thinking it was spring by bringing 80-degree temperatures on Halloween. And it turned into a record-breaker in at least two areas of New Jersey.
The mercury inched its way up to 83 degrees at Newark Liberty International Airport Thursday afternoon, breaking the area‘s all-time record high for Halloween, according to data from the National Weather Service’s New York regional office.
Newark’s old record was set 78 years ago, back in 1946, when the high on Oct. 31 reached 82 degrees.
Thursday turned warm enough at Trenton Mercer Airport in Ewing to set a new record high there for Halloween, with a reading of 82 degrees. And New York City’s Central Park tied its record high of 81 degrees for Halloween.
Those readings are about 20 degrees warmer than usual for Oct. 31.
Mother Nature’s special Halloween treat comes courtesy of a dome of high pressure that has been circulating off the Mid-Atlantic coast, allowing warm air from the south and west to push across our region.
However, the very warm autumn air won’t last too long.
The National Weather Service’s New Jersey office says a cold front will be crossing our region on Friday, “ushering in a return of near-normal temperatures through the weekend.”
Newark and Trenton weren’t the only warm spots in New Jersey on Halloween afternoon. These were among the highest temperature readings reported by the Rutgers NJ Weather Network as of 4 p.m. Thursday:
Note: This post was updated Thursday evening, Oct. 31, to include Trenton’s record-breaking temperature.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at [email protected] or on X at @LensReality.