A winter election in Ireland always leads to lots of warnings of dark evenings and cold weather for canvassers but spare a thought for candidates and campaign workers in the US state of Iowa.
Temperatures there are due to plummet to as low as - 11 C in the coming days.
But while the conditions may be freezing, Iowa is where the race for the White House will really start to heat up.
The Iowa Democratic Caucuses take place tomorrow.
It is the first contest in the presidential primary season and will see voters gather to select their preferred candidate for the Democratic nomination.
It is only the start of a long process but the winner of Iowa will receive a boost in media coverage and funding, providing plenty of momentum as the primary season gets under way.
All eyes on the prize as Iowa takes centre stage
Candidates who do badly in Iowa often see their money and support quickly evaporate and are forced to pull out of the running.
For the last 20 years the winner of the Iowa Caucuses has eventually gone on to become the Democratic nominee.
This year could be different however.
There are still lots of candidates in the running so even if someone loses Iowa, they may well pick up delegates in other primaries in the coming weeks and months.
Iowa will be quickly followed by New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina before Super Tuesday in March when Democratic voters in 14 states and overseas territories will cast their ballots.
There's only a small number of delegates available in Iowa but in the enormous Super Tuesday primary, a third of the delegates will be chosen. If someone can survive Iowa and survive New Hampshire then they have a chance to make a big splash on Super Tuesday.
One candidate, Michael Bloomberg, has decided to skip the early voting states altogether and instead spend millions of dollars campaigning in the later primaries.
Iowa holds caucuses as opposed to a primary. Voters physically show up in a town hall or a school gym and listen to canvassers promoting their candidate. They then move to a particular part of the room to show their support for their chosen nominee.
If a candidate doesn't have enough supporters to meet the threshold the voters reconvene and move to candidates who are still in play.
According to the latest polls, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are battling it out for the top spot in Iowa followed by Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren.
Iowa is also important for Donald Trump.
He won the state in 2016 but has suffered a drop in support among Iowa farmers who have seen their incomes fall as a result of recent trade wars.
There are warning signs for Republicans when it comes to Iowa. Democrats flipped two of the state's congressional seats in the midterm elections.
Former President Barack Obama won Iowa twice. It is a swing state and could be crucial for Donald Trump’s reelection hopes.
He held a campaign rally there on Thursday during which he mocked his Democratic opponents and criticised their policies.
"Democrats stand for crime, corruption and chaos, Republicans stand for law, order and justice," he told the crowd.
The Democratic candidates aren't focused on Donald Trump's attacks, at least for now.
Instead they will be hoping their supporters will brave the freezing conditions this week and not give them the cold shoulder on caucus night.
