Conserving Freshwater and Coastal Resources in a Changing Climate

Timing of Seasonal Phenomena:
• The Northeast will experience the start of
summer (defined as growing degree days – those
above 65°F) 6-11 days earlier, and it will extend
10-16 days longer into the fall by mid-century.
The end of the century is projected to see a
summer season that arrives 9-21 days earlier, and
that extends 12 days to 3 weeks longer into the
fall (UCS 2006).
• The growing season in the Northeast is predicted
to be 2-4 weeks earlier by the middle of this
century and 4-6 weeks longer by the end of the
century (UCS 2006). The growing season in the
Great Lakes region is expected to be 4 to 9 weeks
longer (Kling, 2003).
• The length of the Northeast’s snow season is
expected to decline by 25-50% (UCS 2006).
Weather Patterns
Climate models predict changes in weather patterns
throughout the eastern United States. The summer and
fall months will be hotter and drier, with periods of extreme
drought. This will cause evaporation rates to increase,
effectively lowering the water levels throughout
wetlands and the entire watershed (Moore et al., 1997).
In addition, the ground may become drier which decreases
its ability to absorb rain when it does fall, which
then contributes to erosion (M. Kline, personal communication,
April 13, 2007). Thus, during the winter and
spring, when heavy precipitation events are predicted,
the ground will be less able to absorb the influx of rainwater,
and there will be large increases in the amount of
stormwater runoff, carrying with it higher quantities of
sediment, excess nutrients, and pollutants (Kling et al.,
2003; Najjar et al., 2000).
Conserving Freshwater and Coastal Resources in a Changing Climate
6