Weather Channel has election plans
By: | The Associated Press
Published: October 01, 2012
Published: October 01, 2012
NEW YORK --
Snowstorms, hurricanes and tornados are what usually put The Weather Channel's news team in motion. This November it will mobilize for the election.
The network, which commissioned a study on how many people might be dissuaded from going to the polls by bad weather, said it plans to send some of its meteorologists out into the field on Election Day to monitor the weather's impact on voting.
The study, done in August, found that 25 percent of eligible voters said bad weather would have an impact on their ability or desire to get to the polls on Nov. 6. Among people who said they were undecided between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, 35 percent said weather might make a difference in whether they vote.
Obama's supporters should be hoping for clear skies: Twenty-eight percent of people who said they plan to vote for Obama said weather would have a significant or moderate impact on their decisions to vote, while 19 percent of Romney supporters said it would.
Paul Walsh, vice president of weather analytics for The Weather Channel, said he was surprised at the number of people who suggested rain or shine could be the deciding factor in whether they vote, particularly among the undecided voters.
"In a close election, that becomes daunting," Walsh said. "The weather can become a really pivotal thing."
The Weather Channel will base reporters in swing states on Election Day. It will decide closer to the election whether to pre-empt its regular programming, as is often done during major weather stories, said Jennifer Rigby, the network's multimedia content director.
Icy-road conditions will affect potential voters more than any other condition, the survey said.
No comments:
Post a Comment