It will be a stormy Halloween for much of the country, ranging from Texas to the Midwest, and expanding all the way to some of the Northeast, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Andy Mussoline and reported by USA Today.
The severe thunderstorms predicted could affect almost 42 million people, according to a warning from the Storm Prediction Center, with many cities at risk, including Houston, Nashville, Memphis and Indianapolis.
"Damaging winds and some tornadoes will be possible with what should be a complex and potentially messy storm," according to a forecast from the storm center.
"The best costume in Houston for Halloween probably involves a garbage bag to keep dry," Ryan Maue, a meteorologist with WeatherBell, said, adding that this year could be the wettest Halloween ever in some areas.
Some towns have reacted to the forecast by moving Halloween to Friday, including towns in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, according to WTHR-TV.
The worst weather is predicted to hit the Lake region, including areas around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, where there are forecasts of wind gusts reaching 60 mph.
Light snow is possible in some areas of the northern rocky Mountain regions and cold temperatures reaching the 30s and 40s are expected in the north-central United States.
One of the most famous Halloween storms occurred in 1846, when a major snowstorm hit the Sierra Nevada region of California, resulting in as much as five feet of snow. That storm, along with several others that occurred around the same time, caused over 80 pioneers to be stranded in the snow. The group, known famously as the Donner party, had to resort to cannibalism to survive the winter.
None of this years storms should be nearly that bad, and today's modern equipment allows snow removal to done quickly and efficiently, making the chances of becoming stranded very slim. The worst problem people are likely to face is a need for an umbrella or heavy jacket.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
