Mostly Dry Halloween Weather Expected in Germany as Farmers Recall Old Rain Saying
German farming portal agrarheute recalls a folk saying that rain on 31 October promises a good harvest next year, though meteorologists regard it as anecdotal. Germany's national weather service forecasts mostly dry conditions and a likely mild winter.
In Germany, 31 October, when Halloween and St. Wolfgang's Day are marked, draws the attention of farmers to the weather. On 30 October, the German farming portal agrarheute wrote about an old farmers' saying which holds that rain on this day means a year of plenty. According to the saying, rain on 31 October points to good conditions for the next season's harvest.
Meteorologists, however, stress that such sayings are largely anecdotal, and that basing major decisions on them, such as buying a larger combine harvester, is unwise. At the same time, it is true that autumn can play an important role in replenishing soil water reserves. Even so, rain on a single day does not guarantee a good harvest.
Weather on Halloween
Germany is under the influence of a high-pressure system, so rain is not expected in most regions. In the north, including Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, it will be cloudy and foggy, with possible local drizzle. In the east, in Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, clouds will be thicker and light rain is possible. In the south the morning will start foggy, but in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg the sun may appear once the fog clears. The west is expected to see the most sunny spells. Temperatures across the country will range from 8 to 14 degrees.
Next week and fieldwork
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), cloud cover will increase in places on 1 and 2 November, with light rain in parts of the north and east, but no widespread heavy precipitation is expected at first. From 5 to 7 November, daytime highs will range from 7 to 11 degrees.
In many areas, farmers still have grain maize harvesting, sugar beet lifting, tillage and late winter wheat sowing to complete. In northern Germany, wet soils dry slowly, and heavy machinery on heavy soils can cause compaction. In the east, some rain could be useful, while in the south farmers can use the window before the rain.
Winter outlook
DWD calculations put the probability of an above-average warm period from November 2026 to January 2027 at 66 percent, and for December to February at about 65 percent. A mild winter is therefore more likely than a very cold one. The models also point to drier soil moisture conditions, which matters to farmers because water is still lacking in many regions.
