Jan. 15 (UPI) — Iowa voters will head to their caucus locations on Monday night in record cold conditions the National Weather Service describes as life threatening.
Caucusing begins at 7 p.m. CST across the state. Most of Iowa is blanketed in a wind chill warning into Tuesday. Wind chills are expected to hit -25 to -35 degrees Fahrenheit through Tuesday morning.
Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have campaigned heavily in Iowa since last summer. Their campaigns remained active in the state through the weekend despite severe winter weather conditions.
The winner of Monday’s caucus will not necessarily become the Republican nominee for president, but performing well in Iowa can give a campaign momentum moving forward.
Central Iowa is forecasted for a high temperature of -2 degrees and a low of -12. At 6 p.m. CST, when many voters will be arriving at caucus locations, the temperature is expected to be about -5 degrees with a wind chill of about -25.
The coldest caucus day on record is Jan. 24, 1972. The high temperature was 25 degrees and the low was -4 degrees. If Monday’s forecast holds true, it will be the coldest caucus day in recorded history.
There is no mail-in or absentee voting in the Iowa caucus. All participation takes place in-person on Monday night.
To participate, voters must be registered as Republicans and be 18 by election day on Nov. 5.
Dave Engel, co-chairman for the Marshall County Republican Party, told UPI the weather may deter some people from participating. Particularly the elderly and people who have mobility issues.
“There will still be a lot of people coming out I believe,” he said. “All Republicans realize this is a very important election. We need to get the Republican Party together behind whatever nominee we have.”
There are more than 1,600 caucus locations. Voting will end at 8 p.m. CST, then votes will be tabulated and reported to the state Republican Party on Monday night.
While the results are made public on Monday, candidates will be shifting their focus to New Hampshire. The New Hampshire primary will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
