It’ll be howling this Halloween. So much so that it’s likely even witches will be grounded.

Whether or not there will be snow on the ground for Halloween is a common topic for discussion. Not this year. It’s wind and plenty of it. Blowing, snarling, pummeling, inescapable, wind-chill producing gusty winds from Bowman to Bismarck to Bottineau. Scary stuff!

Okay. Okay. Ugly wind then. Point is, the National Weather Service insists there’s no escaping Halloween winds sustained at 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. Yes, 60. Hold onto your clown noses and pointed hats!

“A typical day in North Dakota. Right?” chided Adam Jones, meteorologist, NWS in Bismarck. “On Halloween pretty much the whole state will have sustained winds at 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 55. There’s the potential we could see some strong winds.”

If that’s not spooky enough, the temperature is expected to go the other direction – down. That means wind chills around sunset, prime trick-or-treating time, will be in the 15-18 degree range. Boo. Brrrrr.

There is no proof that the casting of a Halloween spell is to blame. Believe what you want, but if you look over your shoulder you might see two fast moving cold fronts are the real culprits, at least that’s the plausible explanation of the NWS.

The first cold front will change the wind from south to west but the second one, well, beware.

“The second and stronger cold air front, really colder air, will arrive Saturday about 6 or 7 a.m.” explained Jones.

While strong wind and accompanying cold temperatures may or may not keep trick-or-treaters from their appointed rounds, it won’t last forever.

“In the beginning of next week temperatures should be in the 60s, maybe even low 70s,” said Jones.

That would be a suitable treat on the heels of Mother Nature’s Halloween trick.