It’ll be a busy weekend. Here’s everything you need to know — that’s mostly not about the election
There’s a lot going on right now. It’s Halloween, in the middle of an ongoing national election and a worldwide pandemic on top of that. Oh, and a rare celestial event not seen on this day since World War II is set to appear.
Submitted for your approval, consider the following coincidences:
Blue moon
On Saturday, a full moon will rise over Sacramento. That’s not a terribly interesting occurrence on its own, but what makes it unique is that this will be the second time this month — a blue moon.
October will be book-ended by full moons, with the first occurring on the first day of the month and this second full moon on the very last day of the month. The first, incidentally, was also a harvest moon, which indicates the full moon closest to the autumn equinox.
And no, the moon will not actually appear a ghostly blue, but blue moons are still quite rare. The last blue moon seen in this part of the world was seen on March 31, 2018, and this blue moon is especially rare in that it falls on Halloween in all time zones.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, a full moon visible to all hasn’t occurred on Halloween since 1944, or 76 years ago. Although it is being widely reported that a blue moon hasn’t fallen on Halloween in the same amount of time, that is not the case. There was a blue moon on Oct. 31 in 1974, which, to be fair, is still pretty rare.
If you want to get a good look at this year’s spooky blue moon, you’ve got plenty of time. You can expect the moon to appear starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and remain in the sky until 7:29 a.m. Sunday.
Halloween night
For the first time in many years, moonwatching may prove to be a more popular Halloween activity than the perennial joy of American children everywhere — trick-or-treating.
Local health officials have stressed the hazards of traditional Halloween celebrations in the time of COVID-19.
The Sacramento County Department of Public Health has deemed neighborhood-to-neighborhood trick-or-treating a big “no-no” this year, as the close contact with dozens of strangers usually incurred poses a serious risk of coronavirus transmission.
Health officials say you can still trick-or-treat, but with some significant changes. They suggest people should set up outdoor tables with candy stations and tongs for serving, or just leave out bowls or individual bags of candy, with hand sanitizer available. And as always, wear a mask.
“This year it is important that you do not travel to other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat. Don’t have trick-or-treaters walk up to your door to give candy and don’t use your hands to deliver treats,” county officials say. “To clarify, gatherings with individuals outside of your household are not allowed.”
Health experts at UC Davis echoed many of the concerns voiced by Sacramento County officials.
“I’m worried,” Sheri Belafsky, the director of the Medical Surveillance Program at UC Davis Health, said in a prepared statement. “You go into stores and see rows of candy that are saying, ‘This is like any other Halloween.’ But it isn’t, and we can’t pretend it is.”
Weather report
One point of relief, at least, is the weather. Compared with recent bouts of hot weather, this weekend will be pleasantly cool in Sacramento but not too cold, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday’s high could was expected to top 84 degrees, while the foothills were predicted to reach 80. Sierra Nevada communities may see highs of 77, although lows could range from a frigid 25 degrees to 55 degrees. The same conditions are expected Sunday.
By 6 p.m. in the Valley, temperatures will range from 74 degrees to 82 degrees but will drop quite a bit by 9 p.m., ranging from 55 to 62 degrees.
“The forecast isn’t looking too spooky for (Northern California) tonight, forecasters wrote on social media. “It will get a bit chilly once the sun sets though.”
No need to worry about umbrellas while out — dry weather will remain through the weekend.
Time change
One more consideration this weekend is the impending time change, which is set to take effect at 2 a.m. Sunday.
We could all use an extra hour of rest after binging on pumpkin-flavored Kit-Kats, so turn your clocks back by an hour ahead of time.
The seasonal time change also marks a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and, if you’ve got one, the batteries in your emergency weather radio.
Election crunch
OK, even though 10 million Californians have already sent in a ballot, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, we have to mention the election.
As of Saturday, Sacramento County elections officials opened up the remainder of its 84 vote centers for early voting and ballot returns. A handful of locations had previously opened on Oct. 24. A full list of county vote centers plus hours of availability can be found here.
For those taking advantage of these newly-opened vote centers this weekend, elections officials will be offering masks at the door if voters don’t have one of their own, along with gloves and disposable pens. Ballot equipment will also be sanitized after every use, and limited occupancy will be enforced.
For those opting to utilize their mail ballot, don’t worry, there’s still time. Many vote centers also have ballot drop boxes, and several other drop boxes are in place throughout the county. Find the nearest one to you here.
For those who still have yet to mail their ballots, remember that they must be postmarked on or before election day and received by elections offices by Nov. 20.
While a notable number of Californians have already voted, about 12 million ballots remain outstanding, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 3:36 PM.