A majority of climate models suggest that precipitation in the Northern Great Plains will increase in the winter, spring, and fall by the end of the century, but most models project that summer precipitation may decrease.

The largest decrease (10-15%) in summer precipitation is expected in western Wyoming. The means of several climate models indicate that spring precipitation may increase around 3% across much of the Northern Great Plains by the middle of the century. Winter precipitation is expected to increase 6-12%, with larger increases expected in parts of the Dakotas. Under mild climate scenarios, changes are generally smaller than in more extreme climate scenarios.