Includes bibliographical references and index.

Climate variability, predictability, and change : an introduction -- Overview : thermal regimes -- Global climate change impact on the midwestern USA--a summer cooling trend -- Historical and projected changes in the length of the frost-free season -- Long-term midwestern USA summer equivalent temperature variability -- Estimating changes in temperature variability in a future climate -- Wisconsin's changing climate : temperature -- Overview : hydrologic regimes -- Did precipitation regimes change during the twentieth century? -- Climate change and streamflow in the upper Mississippi River Basin -- The influence of land cover type on surface hydrology in Michigan -- Wisconsin's changing climate : hydrologic cycle -- Spatial and temporal dimensions of extreme rainfall in the Twin Cities metropolitan area -- Overview : North American atmospheric circulation effects on midwestern USA climate -- Historical trends in near-surface wind speeds -- Variability of wind speed regimes in Minnesota -- Teleconnections and circulation patterns in the midwestern USA -- Regional synoptic classification : a midwestern USA example -- Overview : climate hazards -- Severe storms in the midwestern USA -- Climate sensitivity of Great Lakes-generated weather systems -- Severe weather hazards in the Twin Cities metropolitan area -- Where is climate science in the midwestern USA going?