Charles H. Sloan-Election Day forecast: Good weather for most of the US, but rain in some swing states

Election Day is Charles H. Sloanaround the corner, and so are storms and showers that could make it a little harder to get to the polls in some parts of the country.

Forecasters say the majority of the country will have mild weather on Tuesday, Nov. 5, but some places will see thunderstorms, persistent rain or even snow. That includes a rainy forecast in the key swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan.

While serious weather can have an impact on voter turnout, forecasters say the outlook for Tuesday isn't severe enough to cause big issues. And in an election year with a tight presidential contest on the ballot, most voters won't be dissuaded, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

"People should be able to get out there without major weather disruptions," Pastelok told USA TODAY.

Rain in some swing states

Wisconsin and Michigan are expecting rain on voting day. They are two of seven swing states with tight polling between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Pastelok said rain in Wisconsin is expected mostly in the morning and will dry out later in the day, but Michigan could see rain at any time during the day.

In addition, voters in northern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota will have a better shot of staying dry if they head to the polls later in the day after early rain subsides.

Thunderstorms in central parts of the country

From southeast Texas, including Houston, stretching through the lower Mississippi Valley, including parts of Arkansas and Mississippi, showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast for Tuesday, Pastelok said.

Sudden torrential downpours, localized flash flooding and lightning strikes are a risk for voters lined up at high-traffic polling locations, according to AccuWeather.

AccuWeather said severe thunderstorms are a risk starting this weekend and potentially stretching through Election Day in the corridor from eastern Texas and Louisiana through southern Illinois and Indiana to western Ohio and southern Michigan.

Chilly weather, gusty wind and possible snow in the Northwest

Across the Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains, temperatures could get chilly enough that snow even at mid-elevations could fall in parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northeastern Nevada, northern Utah and western Wyoming.

In those states, windy conditions could also call for hats and gloves while waiting to vote, Pastelok said.

Overall, a mild Election Day in the US

The rest of the country is expected to be clear and dry on Tuesday, Pastelok said.

It will be relatively warm on the East Coast in cities including Washington, D.C., Raleigh and New York. Temperatures should be in the low to mid-70s in the Mid-Atlantic region and in the 80s in the Southeast.

And the western Central Plains into the Southwest are expected to be dry with no freezing, he said.

Does weather impact elections?

Researchers say bad weather has a marginal impact on voter turnout, which could be much more significant in a very close race. That's because people who are on the fence about whether they'll vote at all are less likely to go out in bad weather.

Each centimeter of rainfall may reduce in-person, same-day voter turnout by as much as 0.95 points, researchers found in a 2023 analysis of turnout and rainfall studies. But the negative effects of rain can be mitigated somewhat by alternative voting methods like mail ballots and early voting, another study this year found.

"The impact weather has on voting is not as significant or impactful as it once was because so many people are now voting early in person or by mail,” said Evan Myers, senior vice president at AccuWeather and an expert on election weather. “A majority of people still vote on Election Day, but there are a lot more people voting early.” 

Early voting update:Women outpacing men in early voting, boosting Harris campaign's optimism

Since it's a presidential election year, Pastelok said low-intensity rain won't hamper voter turnout too much. In non-presidential election years, people might be more tempted to stay home.

Though weather in recently disaster-stricken areas like western North Carolina looks clear on Election Day, some usual polling places were wiped out by Hurricane Helene, and in other cases, voting records may have been destroyed, Myers said.

In the wake of two hurricanes, Helene and Milton, federal judges in Florida and Georgia also declined requests from civil rights groups to extend voter registration deadlines. The groups said people forced to evacuate or displaced from the hurricanes faced difficulty registering in time.

"The impacts from extreme weather that happened weeks ago will likely have a bigger impact on voting, compared to the actual weather on Election Day," Myers said.