Climate change could hit Michigan crops hard
TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- As the climate gets warmer, Michigan may experience more of the spring thaw-and-freeze patterns that devastated fruit crops last year.
That's the prediction from scientists who outlined the likely effects of climate change on the Midwest during a conference Tuesday in Ann Arbor.
Michigan state climatologist Jeff Andresen said the risk has risen in recent decades of early spring warm-ups that cause trees to emerge from winter dormancy too soon.
If the thaws are followed by late freezes, it can kill buds and ruin crops.
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