Friday runs sunny with highs near 55 in Dover and 57 in Pawling and Patterson on a light north wind, and it is the mild part of a two-day story. Tonight clears out completely, and the cold that has been building all week lands: lows near 29 in Dover and 31 in Pawling and Patterson, with Patterson's forecast calling for widespread frost after midnight.
The frost then repeats on a two-day loop. Saturday morning carries widespread frost before 10 a.m. in Patterson while Dover and Pawling climb from lows near 30 to 32 into a mostly sunny 57 to 59, and Saturday night adds frost after 1 a.m. before Sunday morning's round, which Patterson names again before 9 a.m. Sunday itself is the reward: sunny and near 63 to 65, with Monday reaching 65 to 66 and no freeze in the seven-day picture after Tuesday night's low near 33.
Tonight is the last carry-them-in night for the tender pots across all three towns, and Saturday morning's windshield scraping is the first of the season on the school run. By Sunday's soccer games the frost story has moved to the grass shadows, and by Monday it is gone from the forecast entirely.
The questions the Valley searches this week, answer first, source after.
When does the frost end?
The last named round is Sunday morning: Patterson's forecast carries frost before 9 a.m., with a patchy frost call after 5 a.m. Sunday night that clears before Monday. From Monday on, the seven-day runs dry and quiet, lows in the upper 30s to low 40s and highs climbing from near 63 to 66, so nothing in the picture reaches freezing after the weekend. If you are deciding between covering the lettuce Saturday night or letting it ride, Saturday night is the last widespread round and Sunday night's patchy call is the margin call.
Monday, Nov. 2 is a double deadline, and both ends of town share it. In the village, the tax window on the fiscal-year bill closes at the Village Hall, 9 Memorial Ave: the treasurer collects without charge through July 1 and applies five percent for the first month late, so November's payment lands in the penalty stage. For town water and sewer customers, the rule is starker: no payments are accepted after 12:00 noon on Nov. 2, whatever the postmark says, and any outstanding balance attaches as a lien to the town tax bill. If the bill is still sitting on the counter, Monday morning is the window, and the village clerk's office takes payments 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Tonight, Friday: Patterson Library's Halloween Friday Fun Night runs 5 to 6:15 p.m. with the costume parade and prizes for best costume and best group costume, and Pawling's Monster Movie Madness screens "Tarantula," the 1950s stop-motion original, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Annex. Saturday: Craft Corner drops in at Patterson, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., all ages. Halloween itself, Saturday the 31st, brings Trick or Treat Pawling with the Haunted Library at the Pawling Free Library, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., plus the Lanterns at the Library pumpkin display and vote, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Pawling's Perfect Pumpkin announced Monday, Nov. 2. One caution on the streets either village night: the rut is still running and dusk comes early, so expect deer movement at the edges of town.
The board met Wednesday night with the budget adoption and two local laws on the agenda, and its next regular meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1142 Route 311, streamed on YouTube and Zoom. Two items stay open past this week: sealed bids for snow and ice removal at town facilities and sidewalks are due at the Town Clerk's office by 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, opened and read aloud on the spot, and the Justice Court is still accepting resumes for a full-time clerk to Judge Michael V. Caruso, 35 hours a week plus court nights, paying $47,000 to $53,000 plus a stipend for court sessions, resumes to mvcaruso@nycourts.gov. Seniors have a route too: the town is participating in an AARP-sponsored survey for senior residents, about 20 minutes, on the town's announcements page.
The seven-day runs dry everywhere: sunny today near 55 to 57, then the cold tonight with lows near 29 to 31, mostly sunny Saturday near 57 to 59 behind the morning frost, and sunny Sunday near 63 to 65 into a quiet, dry Monday and Tuesday at 65 to 66. Sunday's low near 33 to 35 is the last number close to freezing in the picture. Shaded curves and bridge decks are the slick spots on Saturday's first drive, and the fog patches Sunday morning burn off inside an hour of sunrise.
The standing item holds: the Chestnut Ridge Road closure in Dover continues for the county's culvert repair into the end of the year, per the town's notice. The boards: Pawling's Zoning Board of Appeals Monday at 7, Pawling Town Court Tuesday at 5:30, and Dover's Town Board Wednesday at 6:30, while Patterson's board returns Nov. 4. For the train, the Harlem Valley line runs its normal weekend schedule with no work listed on the Metro-North notices this week.
AI Corner: one plain-English AI thing, every issue
This week: what the word "widespread" is doing in the frost forecast.
Ask a chatbot whether it will frost tonight and the answer often comes back as a temperature: "lows near 31, so frost is possible." The forecasters' own wording carries more information than that. Widespread frost means the coverage is broad enough to plan around, patchy frost means some spots get it and some do not, and a plain low near 33 with no frost wording means the ground will probably stay above it. Patterson's forecast uses all three levels this week, widespread after midnight tonight, widespread before 10 a.m. Saturday, then patchy after 5 a.m. Sunday night, and each step down is the atmosphere telling you which nights need the towels over the windshield. A generic frost answer flattens those grades into one "maybe," which is the difference between covering the plants twice and covering them once.
Reply with questions; they become future AI Corner topics.
The Dates-Ahead Calendar
Halloween Friday Fun Night at Patterson Library, 5 to 6:15 p.m.: costume parade, prizes for best costume and best group costume, and the pumpkin decorating contest; Monster Movie Madness: "Tarantula," 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Pawling Annex; Mahjong Drop-In, 10:30 a.m. at Patterson; sunny, high near 55 in Dover and 57 in Pawling and Patterson, then the coldest night of the stretch with lows near 29 to 31 and widespread frost after midnight in Patterson
Patterson Library Community Room and Library Park, 1167 Route 311 · pumpkins for the contest went home the week of Oct. 12, one per family · capacity is limited, register on the library's calendar
Craft Corner at Patterson Library, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., drop in any time, all ages; Trick or Treat Pawling and the Haunted Library fall on Saturday this year, Oct. 31; widespread frost before 10 a.m. in Patterson, then mostly sunny, high near 57 to 59
Patterson Library Green Room · no registration needed
No scheduled programs on either library calendar; frost before 9 a.m. in Patterson, then sunny, high near 63 in Dover and 65 in Pawling
A quiet Sunday; both library calendars resume Monday
Pawling Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m. at the Town Clerk, 160 Charles Colman Blvd; Patterson Library: Art Time with Twos 11, Tales for Tots 12:30, Library Help Session: Libby & Hoopla 5 to 6 with circulation clerk Grace Maxwell; Pawling Library: Girls Who Code grades 3 to 5 at 4, Toy Photography Workshop with Zach Oat 5 at the Annex, final of three Monday sessions
Pawling Town Clerk, 160 Charles Colman Blvd for the ZBA · Patterson Library Green Room for Art Time and Tales for Tots · Pawling Library Annex for toy photography
Pawling Town Court, 5:30 p.m.; CVS vaccine clinic at the Pawling library, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Patterson Library: Flying Needles 10:30, movie matinee "The Meddler" 1 to 3:30, ABC Club 2, Open Tech Help slots with Adam Bernier of A&R 360 from 3:10, Patterson Historical Society: The Old Burying Ground, The Final Cut, encore presentation 6 to 8; Pawling Library: Baby Bounce and Groove 10, Toddlers and Twos Together 11, Girls Who Code grades 6 to 12 at the Annex 4, Tuesday Afternoon Book Club on "The God of the Woods," online, 4, Mahjong 3 to 5, Writers Group 6:15
Pawling Town Hall for court · Pawling Free Library for the clinic · Patterson Library Community Room and Study Room for its programs
Dover Town Board regular meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Threads Lab: Intro to Knitting with Dorian, 6 to 7 p.m. at the Pawling Annex, ages 10 to adults; Line Dancing at Lakeside Park, 2 to 3 p.m.; Patterson Library: Baby Jamboree 10:30, Library Help Session: Digital Tools 11:30, The Adventure Club 4:30; Lanterns at the Library pumpkin drop-off begins (Oct. 28 and 29)
Dover Town Hall, 126 E Duncan Hill Rd · Pawling Library Annex for Threads Lab · drop-off at Pawling Free Library
CVS vaccine clinic at the Pawling library, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Witch Noses: Craft Workshop, 4 to 5 p.m. at the Pawling Annex, ages 7 and up; Medicare drop-in help with Maggie Flynn, 4 to 6 p.m. at Patterson; Spooky Science, 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. at Patterson, ages 5 to 8, drop-off, registration required; Lanterns pumpkin drop-off ends
Pawling Library Annex for the craft night · Patterson Library for Medicare help and Spooky Science · wear the nose to the library's Haunted Library on Halloween
Mahjong Drop-In, 10:30 a.m. at Patterson
Patterson Library Community Room · adults 18 and up, beginners welcome
Haunted Library during Trick or Treat Pawling, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Lanterns at the Library pumpkin display and voting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Pawling Free Library · part of the village's Trick or Treat Pawling · gently spooky games, crafts and candy stations
Pawling village tax window closes at Village Hall and town water-sewer payments stop at 12:00 noon, balances then lien to the town tax bill; Patterson sealed bids for snow and ice removal at town facilities and sidewalks due at the Town Clerk's office by 10 a.m., opened and read aloud on the spot; Lanterns at the Library winner announced: Pawling's Perfect Pumpkin picked from the display vote
Village Hall, 9 Memorial Ave, Pawling for village taxes · Patterson Town Clerk, Town Hall, 1142 Route 311 for the bid opening · Pawling Free Library for the Lanterns winner
Patterson Town Board regular meeting, 7 p.m.
Patterson Town Hall, 1142 Route 311, streamed on YouTube and Zoom
How did we do on this issue?
Reply and tell us what the next issue should lead with. Replies land us in more inboxes, and we read every one.
