Whatever the weather, Texans and San Antonians still have to find a way to show up and vote on Election Day — even during extremes. Here’s a look at the rainiest, warmest, and coldest Election Days since 1900 in San Antonio.
Rainiest: November 4, 2014
On this Tuesday, back in 2014, San Antonio received 2.32 inches of rainfall!
This year was a midterm election during President Barack Obama’s second term. Nationally, Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and won control of the Senate.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott won his first term in office, and Sen. John Cornyn secured his third term.
San Antonio hasn’t had to deal with rain too often on Election Day. Since 1900, there have only been 15 election days with measurable rain.
Coldest: November 8, 1938
San Antonio reached the freezing mark (32?) on the morning of November 8, 1938, and only warmed to 56? in the afternoon. That’s the coldest low and high of any election day in San Antonio’s history!
On this day, elections were held during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second term. In Texas, popular radio host Wilbert Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel (D) was elected to become governor. He was in office from January 17, 1939 through August 4, 1941.
Warmest: November 8, 1994
On this day, San Antonio reached 86? for the afternoon high. While this may not seem too warm, 86? is 12 degrees warmer than the average for the day! Also, since 1900, San Antonio has only reached the 80s 17 times.
Elections this year were held during President Bill Clinton’s first term in office. Nationally, Republicans gained unified control of Congress for the first time since 1952.
In Texas, incumbent Gov. Ann Richards was defeated by future president George W. Bush for his first term as governor. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won re-election for her first full term.
Does the weather impact voter turnout?
This is a tough thing to quantify. However, some academic researchers have found that rain may marginally impact voter turnout by up to 1 percent.
Voter turnout is far more impacted by whether or not the elections are held during a presidential year or not.
Election Day 2022
During the midterm elections this year, San Antonio’s forecast calls for a damp and drizzly start for early morning voters with warm, humid weather in the afternoon.
You can find all election results on Tuesday night here.
MORE FROM KSAT