Weather maps divided: This morning's weather art is all courtesy of the Oklahoma Mesonet, where I find weather maps with varying colors on this very partisan day! Here, the current U.S. air temperatures, as of 9 a.m. today.
Why does the majority rule when the few naysayers seem to stick out so much? Here, the Oklahoma Mesonet shows the two spots in the state that has had consecutive days of freezing temperatures. They are Lake Carl Blackwell and Marshall, which are just west of Stillwater.
Is Oklahoma a "swing state?" Definitely when it comes to temperatures. Here are yesterday's (Monday's) high temperatures, also from the Oklahoma Mesonet. The green aresas are mostly below 70 degrees, which the southern yellow-orange regions are mostly above 70 degrees.
Is there a change in this political climate? There definitely was in the actual climate. Here are the temperature changes from 24 hours ago, as of 9:50 a.m. today.
Who says weather differences have to be regional? Here's the three-hour temperature changes, as of 9:50 a.m. today.
Isn't it odd that Green Country is shown in purple instead? That's because our maximum temperatures so far today (as of 9:55 a.m.) aren't that high yet. Once again, all of these "divided" maps have been provided by the Oklahoma Mesonet
Voters today may be casting their ballots mostly for the same two major political parties, but there's a lot more variety out there when it comes to the weather on this Election Day.
While a large portion of the nation will be dry and mild, according to AccuWeather.com, there might be snow in the Great Lakes region, and storms to the northwest and southeast.
Here is more Election Day weather information, courtesy of AccuWeather.com. I have bolded regions and states to make it easier to find each location:
Eastern U.S. Weather
A storm is expected to emerge off the southeast coast of the U.S. on Election Day, potentially sending rain, thunderstorms and wind into coastal areas from
Florida through North Carolina.
"The weather pattern remains volatile for another storm to form on the East Coast, but nothing like Sandy," AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity said in a release.
It is not out of the question that voters will deal with torrential rainfall and high winds from
South Carolina through the northern half of Florida. People heading to the polls in Charleston and Columbia, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. will have to brave the heaviest of the rains.
Meanwhile, chilly air will be funneling across the interior Northeast and down the spine of the Appalachians with highs in the 40s and 50s forecast. A few spots of the higher elevations of
northern New York and northern New England may be held in the 30s.
Dry weather with temperatures will be in the 60s and 70s is in store for much of the south from
Texas to western Alabama.
A zone of showers and thunderstorms will be impacting
central Florida as a front will be stretched across the Sunshine State to the south of the aforementioned low. Temperatures south of the front will be mild in the 80s from Orlando to Miami and Key West.
Central U.S. Weather
There will be a major contrast in the weather across the central U.S. Chilly and unsettled weather will impact the Great Lakes region, while dry and warm weather dominates the central and southern Plains.
A weak storm will be moving across Manitoba and western Ontario, bringing rain and snow showers, brisk winds and chilly air to the
western Great Lakes.
Voters in Chicago and Grand Rapids may contend with passing rain showers and a chilly breeze with highs being held in the 40s.
Heavier rain showers and some snow mixing in or falling alone may impact
eastern Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to northern Wisconsin and northern portions of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Meanwhile, a large dome of high pressure dominating the southwest will have an influence on dry and warm weather for the central and southern Plains. In the
central Plains, highs could climb into the 60s and 70s.
Texas may have highs ranging from the upper 60s and lower 70s around Dallas and Houston to the mid-80s across Deep South Texas. Abundant sunshine should accompany the warm weather in the southern Plains.
Western U.S. Weather
Clouds will be increasing across
much of Washington and Oregon during the morning hours as a storm approaches the Pacific Northwest on Election Day. A few showers will reach
western Washington and northwest Oregon by the midday hours. Voters in Seattle will need to reach for umbrellas before heading to the polls, especially the later in the day it gets.
In Southern California and the Desert Southwest, temperatures may actually climb a bit above normal. Los Angeles may rise into the mid-80s, while normal highs for this time of year are in the lower 70s. Phoenix is also forecast to climb into the mid-80s, about 5 degrees above normal.
Dry and mild weather is in store for places such as Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Denver as well.
Need more information on our local elections? Check out the Tulsa World Election page at
tulsaworld.com/election2012.
And, you can always check out the latest local weather information at our weather page,
tulsaworld.com/weather.
--Althea Peterson
