Halloween on a 1-day delay? Neighborhoods are scrambling to decide.

It’s the critical question on the minds of parents and kids all over Charlotte today, and one that’s thrown entire neighborhoods into a tailspin: Will the weather force Halloween to move to Friday night?

First, a few short answers to the biggest questions at the morning bus stop: No, the city won’t declare whether to move trick-or-treating to Nov. 1. Yes, whether your neighborhood celebrates on Thursday or Friday rests squarely on parents’ shoulders.

Strong thunderstorms are due to move through the region during prime trick-or-treating time — with gusts potentially powerful enough to take down tree limbs and send young ghosts and goblins (and their parents) scattering.

Neighborhoods from Fort Mill to Lake Norman were blasting residents with electronic polls, asking residents whether they wanted to move the festivities to Friday.

Some neighborhoods came to fast consensus. Others decided to let families go their separate ways, asking neighbors to turn off their porch lights if they’re not participating on either Thursday or Friday.

In the Chantilly neighborhood near uptown, organizers of a neighborhood parade Tweeted Thursday morning that the parade will be moved to Friday afternoon. In Ballantyne Country Club, trick-or-treating was officially rescheduled for Friday, after 65% of residents who filled out an online poll requested to delay by a day.

Amissa Rhodes of Matthews was already picking up tree branches in her aptly-named tree-lined neighborhood of Sardis Forest before noon Thursday, and she had already made the call: her kids will trick or treat on Friday.

Rhodes sent her 6-year-old, Austin, off to school Thursday with a warning that he may be handing out candy on Thursday instead of putting on his Spiderman costume and trick-or-treating after she watched a vlog from WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich urging families to trick or treat on Friday instead.

“It just looks awful,” Rhodes said.

Perhaps no one in Charlotte has as big a stake in the Halloween game as Kristen Johnsen and Matthew Clark, a married couple who have spent two months turning their yard and porch in the Elizabeth neighborhood into a “yard haunt” that more than a thousand are expected to visit.

They decided Wednesday afternoon to move their event to Friday, which was a tough call to make, with a street closure petition, entertainers and after-hours police hired and catering ordered.

Johnsen, who laughs that she grew up a Halloween die-hard, wearing a winter coat under her costume on cold nights, says she was disappointed at having to move the date but had no trouble finding a silver lining: “Who knows what we’ll throw in last minute? Now we have a full 24 hours we can come up with something — just a little twist.”

Halloween isn’t a government-recognized holiday in Charlotte, unlike Christmas or New Year, said Jason Schneider, the city’s media and public relations director.

That means the City Council cannot officially enforce — or postpone — trick-or-treating hours, regardless of whether Oct. 31 features perfect fall weather or torrential storms.

Schneider called Halloween a “community endeavor,” noting some neighborhoods across Charlotte are opting to forgo festivities until Friday night.

“We want people to use common sense, be aware of the weather and make a decision that’s right for them,” Schneider said Thursday morning. “Trick-or-treating is not the city’s event.”

The worst of the heavy rains and wind gusts of up to 60 mph are expected to hit Charlotte between 5 and 5:30 p.m., with showers continuing until around 8 p.m., said Doug Outlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C.

He said 1 to 1 1/2 inches of rain could soak the region during the initial storm.

“It’s going to be quite hazardous being out during the time when the storms come through, especially driving,” Outlaw said.

Outlaw cautioned trick-or-treaters to be aware of large branches and trees that may fall due to the wind gusts, and to avoid standing beneath trees when intense lightning strikes.

For those who want to trick-or-treat Thursday but not brave the elements, there are options.

Concord Mills Mall, Northlake Mall, and the Rock Hill Galleria mall are hosting “Mall-o-ween” events, where participating stores will give out candy to kids ages 12 and under.

This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 12:54 PM.