A budding hurricane, snow and record heat could impact voters on Tuesday
By Jennifer Gray, CNN meteorologist
This Election Day, all types of weather including rain, snow, heat, cold and even tropical storm impacts are possible — depending on what region of the country you live in.
Weather can actually play a role in voter turnout on Election Day. Some studies have found that warm temperatures can motivate voters to get out to the polls — but rain and snow can deter them. So, here’s your region-by-region forecast for Tuesday.
Stormy and steamy in the South
In Florida, a tropical storm or hurricane is set to make landfall this week — which may bring impacts to the state starting on Election Day. If a hurricane happens, it would be unusual because one hasn’t hit anywhere in the US in November in nearly 40 years.
Nicole will bring rain and gusty winds to Florida and the Southeast coast beginning on Tuesday. It’s forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday night.
This means Election Day will be the last day for Florida residents to prepare before conditions begin deteriorating that night.
“Onshore winds will begin increasing into the afternoon and evening (on Tuesday) as well with fast-moving squalls reaching the east coastline and progressing inland,” the National Weather Service in Miami said. “Sustained winds 20 to 25 mph near the coastlines with gusts potentially 30+ mph possible in fast moving showers and storms.”
You can read more about Subtropical Storm Nicole here.
Elsewhere in Florida and the rest of the South, the weather on Tuesday should be quiet, with mostly dry conditions and warm temperatures.
Record highs will continue across some Gulf Coast states, with temperatures running 10 to 15 degrees above normal.
Mobile, Alabama, could see a high of 85 degrees on Tuesday, which would tie the record set in 1935. Pensacola, Florida, could also set a record high as it is forecast to hit 84 degrees. And Jackson, Mississippi, could come close to breaking the current record of 86 degrees.
These warm temperatures with Gulf moisture in place will make for a steamy day for voting.
“The warmest temperatures will occur during this time period, with highs in the middle 80s on Tuesday,” the weather service in Jackson said.
A soaking in the West
The West will win the prize for the worst Election Day weather. An area of low pressure will move onto the coast of California this week, spreading flooding rains, heavy snow, and gusty winds across much of the West.
The swing state of Nevada will see pretty miserable weather on Tuesday. A nasty storm will blow through during the early part of this week, with the worst of the weather expected on Tuesday.
Central and eastern Nevada are forecast to experience wind gusts as high as 55 to 65 mph in the higher terrain. “Blowing dust will be possible, which may result in reduced visibilities,” the weather service in Elko warned.
Snow accumulation for central and northern Nevada will be up to 5 inches in the valleys and as much as 10 inches in the mountains, where winds will be gusting as high as 35 mph. Winter weather alerts and high wind alerts are up for much of the state.
In California, this will be the first significant storm of the season and possibly the most rainfall the state has seen since March.
“The potential for these higher rainfall rates brings a risk of flash flooding and debris flows to first and second year burn scars in LA county,” the weather service in Los Angeles said.
As much as 3 inches of rain is forecast for the coastal areas and valleys, while the mountains could see rainfall amounts up to 5 inches. Heavy downpours could produce rainfall rates up to half an inch an hour. Gusty winds will also be a huge concern causing difficult travel conditions, downed trees and power outages.
“The potential for damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph in the foothills, and locally 60 mph on the valley floor,” the weather service in Los Angeles warned.
The Sierra are forecast to get 12 to 20 inches of snow above 6,000 feet — the snow, rain and wind will all create dangerous conditions on the roadways on Election Day
Elsewhere across the West, the weather is much tamer, but cold. Records could fall for coldest afternoon highs for many.
Highs in eastern Washington will only get into the 20s on Tuesday, with the wind chill making it feel like the teens. In northern Montana, high temperatures on Tuesday may only reach the single digits, with the wind chill making temperatures feel like as much as 15 below zero — yikes!
Northeast: Sunny and cool
We go from the worst weather to the best weather on Election Day, which will be found in the Northeast.
A cold front will be passing through, putting an end to those record warm temperatures. Highs on Election Day will be in the 50s and low 60s for much of the Northeast. Bright sunshine should dominate.
While the forecast is a bit more seasonable for this region, it will be a stark contrast to the past weekend’s weather — which felt more like summer — as noted by the weather service office in Philadelphia:
“Compared to recent days, it will be considerably colder, with a gusty breeze helping exacerbate the effect. Most areas will stay in the 50s, which will feel like a shock for those who’ve gotten used to our several days in the 70s.”
A new storm brewing in the Midwest
The area in the Midwest that will be the most impacted by weather on Election Day is Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.
A storm system will begin moving in on Tuesday and will “set the stage for what may end up being the most significant precipitation event we’ve seen in the Twin Cities metro this entire year,” the weather service office in Twin Cities said.
The area could end up getting 2 to 3 inches of rain with this system on some of the most drought-stricken areas.
Temperatures will run 10 to 15 degrees above normal for much of the Midwest, with highs largely in the 50s and low 60s for Election Day.
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CNN Meteorologist Haley Brink contributed to this story.
