Extreme Cold Forecast of -29℃ on the First US Republican Presidential Primary Day...

Extreme cold is expected on the day of the caucus in Iowa, where the first Republican presidential primary will take place.

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According to AP, AFP, and Bloomberg on the 12th, temperatures in Iowa on the day of the Iowa caucus, the first Republican primary, are forecasted to drop as low as -29℃. The wind chill could make it feel as cold as -30 to -40℃.

Some areas in Iowa have already received more than 25 cm of snow, with an additional 5 cm expected.

Foreign media reported that this will be the coldest Iowa caucus since it became the first Republican presidential primary. The previous coldest Iowa caucus was in 2004, when temperatures dropped to -9℃.

This is due to a cold Arctic air mass moving south, combining with an active jet stream and winter storm to bring severe cold to the northern plains of the United States.

Concerns over voter safety due to the cold and snow caused disruptions to the local campaign schedules of the second-tier candidates on the 12th. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley replaced three in-person events with online ones, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held one morning event but postponed four others, according to AP.

Former President Donald Trump, who maintains a majority support in Iowa and nationwide polls and is leading the race, planned four large rallies on the 13th and 14th locally but decided to hold only one as scheduled and replace the others with online events.

The weather variable is expected to affect candidates differently considering the Iowa caucus process. In the Iowa caucus, party members gather at over 1,600 locations across the state by exactly 7 p.m. on the 15th, listen to speeches from supporters representing each candidate, and must stay until they cast their vote. Voting requires a significant amount of time and effort.

Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa, told AP, "If the weather is really bad, it could affect the results," adding, "It's hard to say which candidate will be relatively more affected."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.