Low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy snowfall disrupted the organization of the final stage of election campaigns in the US state of Iowa on Friday, while Republican candidates aspiring to run in the presidential elections delivered their last speeches.
Meteorologists warned of a “severe snow storm” in most parts of the state located in the center-west of the country. The National Weather Service said winds of 80 to 89 kilometers per hour, accompanied by snowfall, could reduce visibility to 400 metres.
Due to bad weather, candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley canceled their rallies a few days before the Republican CEC scheduled for Monday in Iowa, the first primary ballot before the November elections.
“We want to ensure everyone's safety,” DeSantis told reporters in the state capital, Des Moines, as the wind was whistling in the city, where the temperature dropped to minus 14 degrees Celsius.
The National Weather Service expected the storm to be followed by arctic winds and a wave of extreme cold, warning of “dangerously cold winds” reaching minus 43 degrees Celsius in Iowa and throughout the region over the weekend.
Snowfall of five centimeters or more is also expected in the state, and even up to 25 centimeters in some areas.
Dozens of overturned cars and trucks were seen in Des Moines, and Iowa State Police said on social media that they intervened 436 times to assist drivers on Friday before 10 p.m.
The state meteorologist warned on social media of the danger of driving on the roads and expected that the conditions associated with the snowstorm would continue on Saturday, “followed by dangerous cold and strong winds during the weekend and early next week.”
The weather has raised serious concerns about the turnout rate in the electoral councils, while Haley and DeSantis hope to advance over former President Donald Trump, who is leading in opinion polls, and win the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
The state's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, promised not to give in to the weather and to get voters to the polls.
Haley, a former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor, organized Friday's events online, though she implored Iowans not to let the weather prevent them from attending Monday.
“I'll challenge anything,” DeSantis, 45, told reporters standing outside in the snow. “We want to win. We're here to get every vote we can get.”
But Trump, who pledged to his supporters that he would reach Iowa before the vote despite the weather, is counting on a landslide victory in the state to quickly obtain the party's nomination while facing four criminal cases.
In a video clip posted on his platform, Truth Social, Trump said, “It's going to be a bit of a rough ride. No one knows exactly how we're going to get there, but we'll find a way. We're not going to miss it.”
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