Wisconsin DNR Also Points Towards Warmer Summers, More Intense Rain Events

I had mentioned in a posting Sunday a 2003 US Environmental Protection Agency power point presentation I'd seen in Chicago that urged local officials, in light of climate change models, to adjust their infrastructure and flood control plans to minimize the impact of heavier rain events.

I should also point out that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had highlighted the same kind of analysis in a long, 2000 publication - - "Warming Trends " - - that is on its website, with additional links, here.

A key section on water includes this (emphasis added):

"Researchers speculate the upper Midwest would generally become warmer and wetter, with the average temperature increasing by about 4° F. The increase doesn’t mean we’d simply up the daily temperature by 4° ; a more likely scenario is that summer heat waves would be longer and hotter, and nighttime winter temperatures wouldn’t sink so low.

"Precipitation could increase by as much as 10% on average, but much of the increased precipitation could come in the form of intense storms, leading to local flooding and more runoff.

"Precipitation patterns could also change, with more rain coming in the winter and less in the summer. Less rain in the summer, paired with increased evaporation caused by warmer temperatures, could trigger severe summer droughts."

I'm posting this to quiet down the climate change deniers, but also to distribute good resources that have stood the test of time and are relevant year in, year out.