With all the punditry and polls about next Thursday's Iowa presidential caucuses, the prediction that campaign get-out-the-vote officials may be watching most closely is .... the weather forecast. We are, after all, talking about January 3, in Iowa, which already has had several bouts of wicked winter weather. And the decisions by a relative handful of people about whether it's worth braving the elements to go caucus could have a real impact on the outcomes.

The forecast, albeit six days out, is about as good as the turnout teams could hope for -- fair and cold, though not bitterly so. The following are the Thursday predictions for three major Iowa cities: Davenport in the east, Des Moines in the center, and Sioux City in the west -- remembering that these forecasts are subject to change at least six times between now and caucus day.

DAVENPORT: Mostly sunny, high in the upper 20s.
DES MOINES: Partly cloudy, high around 30.
SIOUX CITY: Mostly sunny, high in the lower 30s.