Pumpkins at the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Pearland, Texas on Oct. 9, 2026. (Photo Credit: Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media)
Eduardo and Mary Reyes with their two kids: 7-year-old Leonardo and 3-year-old Lorelei at a pumpkin patch outside of Houston on Oct. 9, 2026. (Photo Credit: Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media)
Pumpkins at the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Pearland, Texas on Oct. 9, 2026. (Photo Credit: Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media)
On a warm Friday afternoon, volunteers rang up customers at a pumpkin patch, hosted by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Pearland.
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“We got a princess and a dinosaur!” one of the volunteers announced, as Eduardo and Mary Reyes approached with their two kids: 7-year-old Leonardo and 3-year-old Lorelei.
While other kids had opted for shorts and T-shirts in the nearly 90-degree weather, Leonardo was in a dinosaur costume and Lorelei dressed as Elsa, from the movie Frozen.
Growing up in Houston, Mary Reyes said she didn’t always have to wear a jacket when she dressed up for Halloween.
“I want to say if it was a costume with a long sleeve, we would be okay,” she said. “If not, maybe a little light jacket, a sweater.”
As for her kids?
“Definitely no sweaters,” Reyes said. “We do try to shy away from the costumes that have the long sleeve, but of course if that’s the one they want to go with that year, we just try to make it work the best we can and just hope it’s not too hot on Halloween Day.”
Her experience reflects a pattern in the city’s weather: Halloween has been getting hotter in Houston.
The 30-year average high temperature on Oct. 31 from 1889 to 1918 was about 74.5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data from the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, the 30-year average high for 1996 to 2025 was about 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
Eric Berger, a meteorologist with Space City Weather, has analyzed the city’s Halloween temperatures. He said some of Houston’s warming is due to what’s known as the urban heat island effect: cities tend to be warmer than the surrounding rural areas because they have more buildings and pavement, and less vegetation.
However, he added, climate change is also to blame.
“That’s been especially noticeable in places like Galveston where the urban heat island effect plays less of a role,” he said.
But you don’t have to go all the way back to the early 1900s to see a change in Houston’s fall temperatures.
Photo courtesy of Climate Central
A graph from Climate Central shows average fall temperatures in Houston since the 1970s.
Historic weather data from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration shows the city’s average fall temperatures have increased by about 4.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970.
Shel Winkley is a chief meteorologist with the nonprofit Climate Central, which researches climate science.
Winkley, who’s based in College Station, said Houston used to have its last day of 90-degree weather around October 5th.
“Now, we’re really not seeing that last day on average till about October 19th or October 20th,” he said.
And it’s not just Houston that’s experiencing longer summers and warmer falls. Winkley said other major cities in Texas, like Dallas, San Antonio and Austin have also had average fall temperatures rise by about 4 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s.
Last year, Winkley recalled, he carved pumpkins with his kids on the weekend before Halloween.
“And it was so hot that before we actually got to Halloween day, the pumpkins were already rotted and falling apart and shriveled because it was so hot outside,” he said.
Back at the pumpkin patch in Pearland, the nearly 90-degree weather hasn’t stopped some visitors from donning their Halloween costumes or even shopping for Christmas presents.
Jenny Calles, who brings her grandchildren to the pumpkin patch every year, is attending the adjoining craft fair despite the afternoon heat. She’s carrying several shopping bags through the rows of stalls selling handmade soap, freshly baked goods and jewelry.
“You have to go inside (and) cool off,” she said of her strategy to beat the heat. “I feel for the people working, that’s for sure.”
Taking photos with his girlfriend by decorative bales of hay, David Carrillo compares the Halloweens of his childhood to the current one.
“I feel like it’s almost the same, but I would say that the weather is a little bit more drastic,” the Pasadena native said.
Even as the state records warmer fall temperatures, for many Houstonians, the month of October still offers some reprieve from hot, muggy days.
For Mary Reyes, whose kids wore the dinosaur and Elsa costumes, her family is looking forward to some relief from the summer temperatures.
“We’re really excited for Halloween as we are every year, especially kind of getting over that, like, heat of the summer,” she said. “We’re looking forward to that fall weather. It’s not always here during the month of October, but we’re always hoping.”