Blizzard threatens first presidential contest as entire US under extreme weather alerts
A powerful blizzard disrupted presidential campaigns ahead of the first 2024 contest in Iowa, while the entire contiguous US was under extreme weather warnings.
Blizzards hit the upper Midwest on Friday morning, bringing heavy snowfall and winds up to 60 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
In Iowa, where the presidential race begins on Monday, temperatures were forecast to fall below zero degrees Fahrenheit, posing frostbite and hypothermia risks, said meteorologist Zach Taylor of the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
Des Moines, the state capital, had an expected low of minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures on Monday – when Republican candidates hope their supporters will go out and vote at school gyms and churches – are forecast to be the coldest ever in the history of the crucial political event.
Republican candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis braved the snow and freezing temperatures to make a brief visit to his campaign’s headquarters in Urbandale to meet his volunteers.
‘We can handle the snow even though we’re a Florida-based campaign,’ said DeSantis said. ‘We’ve got people knocking on doors in the snow, we’re out here doing events, we’re not stopping.’
Fred Shuster, 68, who despite the brutal conditions went to watch DeSantis’ campaign appearance in Ankeny, said he was ‘worried about the weather’.
‘I think it’s going to impact how many people attend the caucuses,’ said Shuster.
The rest of DeSantis’ events on Friday were canceled.
Former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who had a one-on-one debate with DeSantis earlier this week after ex-President Donald Trump declined to participate, canceled all three of her campaign events. She held phone-in events instead on Friday.
‘Stormy weather won’t stop us from ensuring Iowans hear Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America,’ said Haley’s spokesperson Pat Garrett. ‘With only three days until the caucuses, we’re going to keep telling voters why they should pick Nikki.’
Trump, who is the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination, canceled his planned rally in Pella. His campaign has been pushing a ’10 for Trump’ caucuses commitment aimed at voters who may prefer to stay home than go out and vote in the cold.
The former president had 53% support, Haley had 17.8% and DeSantis had 15.5% in a RealClearPolitics average of polls from January 5 to 11.
Americans across the country will be watching how the snowstorm affects turnout for the Republican Party of Iowa’s presidential caucuses.
Storms impacting the west coast put 5.2million people under blizzard alerts. All 48 states in the contiguous US were subject to advisories, with 57million under winter storm warnings, 28million under wind chill warnings and 167million under high wind warnings.
The storm over the Southern Plains and headed toward the Midwest on Friday morning appeared on track to become a bomb cyclone.
All planes were grounded at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and more than 5,000 flights were canceled or delayed on Friday across the nation.
‘This storm system is definitely dangerous,’ Taylor said.
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