Storm soaks central US on Election Day after causing deadly flooding, voting disruptions in Southwest

By Meteorologists Tyler Ory, Chris Dolce, Briana Waxman, and CNN’s Kate S. Petersen

(CNN) — Widespread rain is draped across the central United States on Election Day from the same storm that caused deadly and historic flooding in the Southwest over the past few days.

The destructive storm briefly shut down voting sites near Phoenix, sparking disinformation, and prompted voting logistics changes in Utah and Colorado.

The storm has lost some of its strength, but rain will impact voters on Tuesday from the Great Plains and Upper Midwest south through the Mississippi Valley to the western Gulf Coast. Key races in Iowa, Kansas, eastern Texas and northern Michigan will deal with wet conditions.

Active weather tends to suppress voter turnout while sunshine has the opposite effect, multiple studies have found.

The threat of flooding rain is low, but voters traveling to the polls could encounter ponding on roads.

A few thunderstorms could turn severe in the afternoon and produce isolated damaging wind gusts or a brief tornado from far eastern Texas to the Mississippi Valley. Storms could reach as far east as Memphis, Tennessee, by the time polls close.

Though not from the same storm, scattered showers are also falling across Florida. Serious flooding from more than 20 inches of rain on Sunday and Monday forced election officials to move 23 polling places in the state.

A repeat is not expected Tuesday, but parts of southeast Florida from north of Miami to West Palm Beach are in a Level 2 of 4 risk of flash flooding.

Most other parts of the country, including the flood-ravaged Southwest, will stay dry. Nuisance showers in northern New England and Northern California are the only exceptions.

There will also be little need to bundle up to go vote: High temperatures in most of the nation’s eastern half are forecast to be 5 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Some portions of the West and Plains will lean a bit cooler than average.

Forecast for key race states

• Georgia: A little drizzle is possible in northern Georgia but the bulk of the shower chances should stay over central and southern parts of the state. Highs will hit the 70s and 80s.
• Iowa: Much of the state is seeing showers this morning. Rain chances will last much of the day. There will be breaks in the rain but roads will remain wet. Highs will reach the 60s in central and eastern parts of the state as western areas hold in the 50s.
• Kansas: North-central Kansas is seeing widespread rain and wind gusts over 30 mph this morning. Rainfall will taper off there by early afternoon as showers spread toward northeast Kansas. Much of the state should be dry by late afternoon. Highs will range from the 40s and 50s in the northwest portions of the state to the 60s in the east.
• Maine: Nuisance showers or drizzle will affect northern and central parts of the state, with the highest chances in the afternoon. Highs will range from the 40s in the state’s north to the 60s in the south.
• Michigan: Showers have fallen across the Upper Peninsula this morning. Rainfall will become more widespread this afternoon and should last in parts of the Upper Peninsula until polls close. A few showers could also clip northern Lower Michigan. Highs will range from the 60s in the Upper Peninsula to the mid-70s in Lower Michigan.
• New Hampshire: Nuisance showers or drizzle will impact northern portions of the state, especially from the afternoon through the evening when polls close. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s in the north and near 70 degrees in the south.
• North Carolina: Dry with highs in the 70s.
• Ohio: Dry with highs in the 70s.
• Texas: Eastern and coastal Texas will likely see rain from west to east throughout the day. Houston’s best chance of storms is in the afternoon. A few severe thunderstorms are also possible in eastern Texas, but the threat should stay northeast of Houston. Highs will range from the 80s near the coast to the 50s and 60s in the state’s panhandle and west Texas.

Deadly floods force evacuations, impact voting

The storm dropped multiple months’ worth of rain on parts of the Southwest over the weekend, causing waterways to burst their banks and forcing evacuations in at least a dozen counties across parts of Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Multiple rivers, creeks and washes surged past major flood stage — the highest level. Some in Arizona and Colorado also hit record highs.

In Flagstaff, Arizona, a 73-year-old man was found dead early Monday morning after reportedly falling into floodwater Sunday evening, according to the Flagstaff Police Department. He was identified as Williams Singavarapu in a news release.

A second man was found dead in Flagstaff Monday morning in a stormwater drainage area, according to police. The death appeared to be weather-related, police said, but an official cause of death is under investigation.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs declared a statewide state of emergency Monday to free up resources to help residents and repair infrastructure.

In Colorado, evacuations were ordered along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs as the river surged to its second-highest level on record.

A voting center and ballot drop box in Pagosa Springs have been relocated because of the flooding, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Those impacted by floods can request an emergency ballot online or go to another voting center, but they’ll be limited to statewide races if they go to one outside their home county.

In Utah, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Monday issued an emergency election accommodation order to allow San Juan County voters “who are unable to reasonably travel to in-person polling or drop box locations on Election Day to request and return their ballots electronically.”

Floodwater entered homes and forced evacuations and water rescues in neighboring San Juan County, New Mexico, but all polling locations will be opened as planned in the state for Election Day, a spokesperson for the New Mexico secretary of state’s office told CNN.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.