Iowa experienced its coldest Republican caucuses on Monday, marked by unprecedented frigid conditions.
The state, accustomed to holding caucuses in January or February every four years since 1976, faced extreme cold, unlike anything before. Iowans awoke to temperatures plunging into the minus 10s, accompanied by wind chills as severe as minus 40, posing a risk of frostbite on exposed skin within a mere 10 minutes.
The caucus day set a new record for being the coldest, with high temperatures registering below zero throughout much of the state and wind chills reaching the minus 30s. In Des Moines, the high temperature on Monday was 15 degrees colder than the prior coldest caucus day recorded on January 19, 2004.
Des Moines, for instance, remained below zero since Saturday afternoon and only surpassed it on Tuesday afternoon, reaching a mere 1 degree. This marked the first time the city experienced subzero temperatures since February 2021, underscoring the severity of the current cold spell.
Recent days have seen high temperatures plummet nearly 40 degrees below the average, amplifying the harshness of the conditions. Despite a slight rise in temperatures during the afternoon on Monday, they dropped again as the caucuses commenced at 7 p.m. Central Time, encapsulating the extraordinary chill that defined this historic Republican caucus in Iowa.
