This Day in Henrico History: October 31 – Henrico’s airport records an 85-degree Halloween
On October 31, 1950, the official Richmond weather station at Byrd Field in Henrico County recorded a high of 85 degrees — a remarkably warm Halloween that still appears as the date’s record high in National Weather Service climate tables updated in 2026.
The Weather Service’s year-by-year Halloween record lists a low of 51 degrees that day and no measurable precipitation. The high was 19 degrees above the 66-degree October 31 normal shown in the agency’s current daily climate table, which uses the 1991–2020 reference period.
Although the climate series carries the Richmond name, the airport is located in eastern Henrico. Historical station documentation places the official airport observations there during this period.
The 1950 reading is a local weather milestone, rather than evidence of what temperatures were in every neighborhood. It also offers a reminder of how widely Halloween conditions can vary: the regional record’s warmest afternoons and coldest mornings belong to very different autumns.
Sources: National Weather Service, Richmond Halloween observations, 1950 row, PDF p. 2; National Weather Service, Richmond Daily Climate Records, October 31 row, updated May 1, 2026; Axios, “Halloween in Richmond is getting hotter,” October 30, 2024; Glen Allen Weather, history of Richmond Weather Bureau observations; Henrico County Vision 2026 Comprehensive Plan, chapter 10, airport location.
