Weather & Climate

Clouds over Gettysburg National Millitary Park.

NPS / James A. Comiskey

Importance and Issues

Climate is a dominant factor driving the physical and ecologic processes affecting the Mid-Atlantic Network (MIDN). Climate variations are responsible for short- and long-term changes in ecosystem fluxes of energy and matter and have profound effects on underlying geomorphic and biogeochemical processes.

Individual storm events do occasionally impact and alter the structure of plant and animal communities in the MIDN. Future climate changes will likely cause migrations of plant and animal communities both northward and to higher elevations. Superimposed on this is a long history of human use in the region, with accompanying land-use patterns that have fragmented the original MIDN landscape of wetlands and upland forests and will influence the ability of the plant and animal communities of the MIDN to adapt to climate changes.

Because of its influence on the ecology of MIDN park units and the surrounding areas, climate was identified as a high-priority vital sign for MIDN.

Monitoring Objectives

1. Document current status and long-term trends in air temperature and precipitation at multiple temporal scales (e.g., daily, monthly, seasonal, annual, and decadal) and spatial scales (e.g., individual stations and aggregated stations such as climate divisions) utilizing existing weather and climate monitoring programs and datasets.

Where We Monitor

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• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
• Booker T. Washington National Monument
• Eisenhower National Historic Site
• Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park
• Gettysburg National Military Park
• Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
• Petersburg National Battlefield Park
• Richmond National Battlefield
• Shenandoah National Park
• Valley Forge National Historical Park

Climate Change

Data from 1895 to present show that annual average temperature and annual total precipitation have increased in the Mid-Atlantic region (Figure 1). Changes in climate can alter vegetation, animal migrations, and ecosystem processes in national parks. See the video below to understand how the National Park Service is preparing for climate change across the Northeast.

Figure 1. Annual average temperature and annual total precipitation for the Mid-Atlantic basin (1895-2019). Dashed lines show linear trends. Data are available here.

Duration:

6 minutes, 54 seconds

National Parks protect amazing places and organisms for all Americans. As climate changes, learn how Inventory & Monitoring helps parks track its effects on populations of Shenandoah salamander, life in the rocky intertidal zone, and brook trout in freshwater streams.

Summaries of 2019 weather conditions in MIDN parks

Monitoring Documents

Resource Briefs

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Resource briefs are short PDFs summarizing our monitoring programs or results.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 693. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Reports

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Periodically, we publish reports that describe what we are learning in the field. These monitoring reports are more in-depth than resource briefs and include data analysis and a discussion of our findings. 

Source: Data Store Saved Search 692. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Protocols

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Protocols describe how we monitor. They include a descriptive narrative of what we monitor and why, our field methods, how we analyze and manage our data, and more. All of our protocols are peer reviewed.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 710. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

For More Information

Contact Mid-Atlantic Network Biologist, Jeb Wofford