Climate Change throughout the Dakotas
Abstract
How is the climate changing on a county level throughout North Dakota (ND)
and South Dakota (SD)? To determine this answer, 13 different climate variables
were analyzed: temperature minimums and maximums, precipitation, growing
degree days (GDD), season length, first and last frost dates, standardized
precipitation index (SPI), Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), evapotranspiration
(ET), solar radiation, dew point and wind speed. Annual and monthly climatic
trends, per decade, were developed and analyzed by county. These climatic
variables show various changes throughout North Dakota and South Dakota by
either increasing, decreasing or staying the same.