Extreme Weather

Extreme events are occurrences of unusually severe weather or climate conditions that can cause devastating impacts on communities and agricultural and natural ecosystems. Weather-related extreme events are often short-lived and include heat waves, freezes, heavy downpours, tornadoes, tropical cyclones and floods. Climate-related extreme events either persist longer than weather events or emerge from the accumulation of weather or climate events that persist over a longer period of time. Examples include drought resulting from long periods of below-normal precipitation or wildfire outbreaks when a prolonged dry, warm period follows an abnormally wet and productive growing season.

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Northeast Specialty Crop Water Symposium Logo

Please join us for a two-day event geared towards all things agriculture and water-use efficiency. We will share understanding about how climate change will affect irrigated/rain fed specialty crops in the Northeast and how water-use efficiency practices can be improved. Co-…

Northeast Specialty Crop Water Symposium

Agricultural Drift & Inversion Monitoring (ADIM) Workshop

The USDA Midwest Climate Hub and the Indiana State Climate Office at Purdue University will provide a 1.5 day workshop on regional research, management and monitoring needs with an emphasis on herbicide/pesticide drift issues.  This workshop will provide “science-to-services”…

Agricultural Drift & Inversion Monitoring (ADIM) Workshop

The Midwest includes agricultural lands, forests, and urban areas.

Increasing humidity and precipitation and rising extreme temperatures are having negative impacts across the Midwest. Integrating climate adaptation into planning processes can help build adaptive capacity to increase climate resilience. The U.S. Climate Resiliency Toolkit for…

Midwest U.S. Climate Resiliency Toolkit

David Handley, Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist at the University of Maine, takes a closer look at the grapes

Maine is a state known for its long, cold winters and short growing season, but changes in climate are disrupting this norm. Many growers around the state have already started to experience the trend towards longer growing seasons. This includes slightly warmer summers and…

UMaine’s Highmoor Farm

Organic dairy cows exhibit signs of heat stress after being turned out to pasture for night grazing in mid-July (Maryland).

Keeping cows cool in the summertime is a major concern for dairy farmers, even in the relatively moderate climate of the Northeast. During humid heatwaves, temperature and humidity levels can rise above a cow’s comfort zone, leading to heat stress. When heat stress occurs, dairy…

Managing Dairy Heat Stress in the Northeast’s Rapidly Changing Climate

Teff seeded between rows of pumpkins at URI’s agronomy farm. Photo by Dr. Rebecca Brown.

Many Rhode Island farmers plant winter cover crops, such as winter rye (Secale cereale). The plants help to reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality, and provide other benefits. Summer cover crops traditionally have not been used in Rhode Island because of the short summer…

New Opportunities for Summer Cover Crops

scene from Sustainable Dairy Cropping at Penn State virtual tour

Warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons offer Pennsylvania dairy farmers the ability to plant more than one crop in a season. But increasing frequency of extreme rainfall presents new challenges. Double cropping with winter annuals can increase forage production and…

Sustainable Dairy Cropping at Penn State

Every Struggle is Different.

Farming can be a challenging occupation here in the Midwest. Producers, ranchers and their families face many difficulties that can lead to stress: financial problems, marketing uncertainties, production challenges, mental health issues, social pressures and natural disasters (…

Stress and Crisis Resources in the Midwest

Aerial view of wind damaged crops after a Hurricane

Though vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis, and wildfires, the major threat of disaster in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands comes from hurricanes, tropical storms, and drought. Hurricanes bring storm surge, heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides, extreme winds and tornadoes…

Disaster Preparedness - Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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