The weather forecast for most of the country will be fairly quiet for election day, with large parts of the east and west coasts remaining dry, but a cold front across the heartland will be the focal point for scattered showers and STORM.

The frontal limit will mean cities like ChicagoSt. Louis and even Tulsa, Oklahoma will be in the rain zone, and behind the front there will be cooler air over much of the Rockies and Plains.

Political experts say weather conditions – whether rainy or sunny – on election day can influence voter enthusiasm. However, with more than half the country voting before November 5, Election Day is looking more and more like an extended election season rather than a single important day.

Election Day Forecast for Tuesday, November 5

A 2007 university studies found that Republican-leaning voters outnumbered Democratic voters in rainy weather. The researchers found that voter turnout dropped by about 1 percent per inch of rain, and snow decreased turnout by nearly half a percent for every inch of accumulation.

With the majority of the electorate taking advantage of early voting methods, millions of people will find themselves with little to do on Election Day other than relax and watch the results.

Dr. David Richardsassociate professor and politics chair at the University of Lynchburg, has been tracking voting trends for decades and says changes are happening.

“Early in-person voting has skyrocketed as people get used to having time to go to the polls,” Richards said. “They don’t have to wait and do it on election day — as they have traditionally done. It’s a generational change that took a few election cycles for people to get comfortable with.”

On the temperature side, most of the country will experience warmer-than-average readings, with pockets of cold air centered over Utah and the western US

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Impact of Hurricanes on Recent Elections

Hurricanes Helen and Milton has carved a path of destruction through several battleground states, leading to changes in the voting process.

In hard-hit North Carolina, the State Board of Elections has made it easier for residents in the 13 hardest-hit counties to vote.

The Reports of the North Carolina State Board of Elections these efforts include allowing voters to pick up their ballots from their local county council election office up until the day before the election and return them to any polling station or county election office by November 5.

Other accommodations were made in Florida and Georgia to reduce the stress of voting for hurricane victims.

Despite the damage caused by the multi-billion DISASTERimpacts on the electoral system appear to be minor and do not prevent people from voting.

“I think it’s interesting to see that it doesn’t appear to be a depressing presence and that we’ve seen those early record days in North Carolina and Georgia, which were the hardest hit states, especially since the first storm,” Richards said .

In fact, these disasters can actually serve as a galvanizing force among likely voters.

Richards suggested that residents could go to the polls early to avoid being caught in a future disaster or to gauge the government’s response.

Major disasters, such as widespread flooding and hurricanes, have long influenced voter enthusiasm around important elections.

For example, in 1992, FEMA’s response to Hurricane Andrew in South Florida it was largely deemed inadequate by the public, putting the state’s 25 electoral votes up for grabs.

Similarly, in 2012, Superstorm Sandy swept the eastern US, impacting the re-election of President Barack Obama.

at that moment, the indicated national exit poll that the response to the hurricane was an important factor for 15% of voters.

Despite five systems landing during the 2024 hurricane season, Richards noted that extensive research will likely be needed to determine whether the extreme weather had any effect on the voting public.

WEATHER MAY IMPACT VOTING ATTENDANCE

Cope with election stress

One of the main questions Richards said he gets from his students and the general public revolves around waiting for votes to be tabulated.

Many are what he calls “doom-scrolling” through social media to try to figure out which candidate might be in the lead — to which the politics professor advises and offers some guidance.

“I would encourage people to get out. Politics is very important, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of things in life that matter — a lot of other things you can focus on: your job, your family, your leisure time. There will be a winner and there will be a loser. That’s how our process works,” Richards said.

For those interested in the results, Richards said there are a few races in Virginia and around the country to watch that are like a barometer for the country.

In the Commonwealth of virginone race to watch will be the 2nd House congressional district — the district is usually a barometer for which party will hold control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In both Ohio and Montana, incumbent senators are running for re-election, which could help sway the balance of power in the upper house of the United States Congress.

To watch the election results live: Click here.

This article was first published on FOX Weather.