Extreme cold and snow blanket Iowa ahead of Monday’s Republican caucuses

Candidates were forced to cancel campaign events as snow closed rural highways and temperatures are expected to plummet

Wild and dangerous winter storm weather continued to wreak havoc on Saturday in Iowa just two days before the Republican caucuses kick off the official nominating process for the 2024 presidential election.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the state capital of Des Moines said on Saturday morning that more snow was expected, in combination with lingering gusty winds causing “blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times” and warned that “travel is expected to remain treacherous, so consider altering plans”.

The NWS added that many rural highways in Iowa were impassable on Saturday and the Iowa state patrol went so far as to post on X, formerly Twitter, that it had responded to 72 crashes on the roads and 436 “motorist assists” just on Friday.

Not the best news for leading candidates Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis as they enter the last weekend of what would normally be frantic rounds of events as they attempt to draw any uncommitted voters into their camps.

On Friday night the streets of Des Moines were caked in snow and almost deserted, with little traffic or evidence that the caucuses were just three days away. At the city airport, people queued for hire cars only to be told they were buried in snow while a taxi operator said she was unsure if and when cabs would be available. But some restaurants remained defiantly open with a sense of business as usual.

The extreme weather has made Iowa’s roads dangerous and inflicted chaos on the final sprint of the caucus campaign. On Friday the state patrol posted a warning on social media that said: “Please, don’t put yourself or others in danger.”

Trump’s campaign was forced to cancel three out of four in-person rallies over the weekend, opting to hold tele-rallies instead “out of an abundance of caution amid severe weather advisories”. Haley, who cancelled all three of her events on Friday, quipped to voters during a virtual town hall: “I definitely know I’m not in South Carolina any more.”

DeSantis did manage to hold an event on Friday morning in Ankeny, close to Des Moines, and said of the caucuses: “I know it’s gonna be cold. I know it’s gonna be not the most pleasant, but I don’t think you’ll ever be able to pass a vote that has more impact.”

Iowans are famously hardy but Monday is forecast to be a record cold caucus night with temperatures as low as -20F (-29C). Biting winds could make it feel as cold as -45F in some places. The Trump campaign said in a media advisory: “Nothing will keep our people from showing up to caucus for President Trump!”

Joanna Walters contributed reporting

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