With SD's climate getting wetter and warmer, experts gather for summit on changing conditions

Aug. 1—OACOMA, S.D. — The circumstances around the South Dakota Climate Summit on Tuesday on the banks of the Missouri River were set out early on.

Five of the 10 warmest years in South Dakota history have occurred since 2000, including the warmest in 2012.

Three of South Dakota's 10 wettest years on record have occurred since 2010, including the wettest year on record in 2019, when the state had an average precipitation total of 31.4 inches, more than 12 inches above the state's average.

And the state's average minimum daily temperature for the year continues to rise on an annual basis, up about 3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1895, with more temperature rises projected for the remainder of the century, South Dakota State Climatologist Laura Edwards said.

The purpose of the two-day summit was to bring all of the key stakeholders in the state and region together to share information and make the state's resources as strong as possible in battling climate change's effects.

"We're here because we recognize that climate change is a challenge," said Sandy Smart, an SDSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Senior Program Leader. "And we're all trying to deal with the climate variability that comes from Mother Nature."

Smart said the diversity of the different groups at the table on Tuesday, ranging from the South Dakota Wildland Fire Division to Pheasants Forever, from the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management to representatives of the state's tribal communities.

Among the topics discussed included looks at the climate trends taking place in South Dakota, a look at the expansion of the state's Mesonet weather station network and a look at the state's water resources, agricultural management methods, wildland fire management and what tribal members are doing for their communities and lands. About 40 people were in attendance for the opening session at the Arrowhead Cedar Shore Resort, in the event that was free to the public.

"We are trying to build community. ... We need each other to provide better for the future," said James Rattling Leaf, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, adding that the current leaders are responsible for "teaching, raising and modeling" for future generations.

Rattling Leaf has represented the Rosebud Sioux in a pair of White House events on climate change and been a part of the Group on Earth Observations Indigenous Alliance, which uses geographic information system (GIS) technology and earth observation technology to examine climate impacts and convey the tribal cultural values.

In a few of those wet-year instances, 2010 and 2013, they were bookended around historic drought in the middle, Edwards said. Parts of East River South Dakota have been getting wetter faster, with a steeper trend line compared to the rest of the country. She noted that episodic droughts in South Dakota are "a feature" of the state.

"In that instance, it changed a lot in 18 months," she said. "The challenge is how do you manage that?"

Some of the fastest instances of climate velocity — the terminology attached to the speed at which certain climates are changing — is taking place in the Midwest and Northern Plains states. Another example is related to plant hardiness, where South Dakota is now mostly in Zone 4, as the colder-weather hardiness zones move to the north.

"We have a lot of work to do in the next seven to 10 years if we're going to make an impact on what we're seeing," said Jason Miller, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in South Dakota. "It's certainly possible that we're going to have to update some of our conservation standards."

Another area that has seen climate effects is the state's wildland firefighting efforts. Darren Clabo, the state's fire meteorologist and professor at South Dakota School of Mines, noted that some of the state's biggest fires in the last handful of years have come between October and March, particularly West River, which are not typically months thought of as fire-risk months.

"We have winters warming faster and we have drier conditions earlier," Clabo said, noting that fighting fires when the temperatures are still below freezing has obvious pitfalls when trying to get water equipment and fire trucks to work properly.