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Most Americans can expect wetter winters in the future due to global warming, according to a new study led by a University of Illinois Chicago scientist.

Using climate models to investigate how winter precipitation in the United States will change by the end of the 21st century, a team led by Akintomide Akinsanola found overall winter precipitation and extreme weather events will increase across most of the country.

The study in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science also reported an increased frequency in "very wet" winters—those which would rank in the top 5% of U.S. historical total winter precipitation. By the end of the 21st century, these previously rare winters would happen as often as once every four years in some parts of the country.

Combined with a shift from snow to rain in many parts of the country, the changes will have dramatic implications for agriculture, water resources, flooding and other climate-sensitive areas, said Akinsanola, assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences at UIC.

"We found that, unlike summer and other seasons where projected changes in precipitation is highly uncertain, there will be a robust future intensification of winter precipitation," Akinsanola said. "It will accelerate well past what we have seen in historic data."

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