Projected changes in climate have implications for public planning, utilities, city budgets, and public health, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the young, elderly, and poor. A group of researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln banded together with the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, to help municipalities across the Midwest plan for such changes. The project is intended to help cities determine where to invest their limited dollars to match future needs of their communities.

The project website hosts municipal climate adaptation reports for:

• Des Moines, Iowa
• Dubuque, Iowa
• Garden City, Kansas
• Grand Island, Nebraska
• Hays, Kansas
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• McCook, Nebraska
• Sioux City, Iowa
• Springfield, Missouri
• St. Peters, Missouri

Each report includes statewide and local historical climate trends, future climate projections, and a discussion of the implications thereof.

The site also features a City Data Explorer tool, which allows users to select a location within 10 states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) and view graphs of historical climate data and trends and future projections. The City Data Explorer also provides:

• The Sister City Tool, which matches the future conditions of a chosen location with the current conditions of another location. For example, by 2050 the spring average temperature at Lincoln's airport will be similar to the existing spring average temperature in Abilene, Kansas. By displaying comparisons of the future climate to that of the present, the climate projection data can be put into context.
• The Planning Documents Tool, which was developed to allow users to explore how other cities and counties are planning. The documents database primarily includes plans from Missouri River Basin states, but plans from other locations are available. All plans are indexed by climate-related topics and location.
• A recorded tutorial webinar. 

The project was funded by the NOAA Climate Program Office's Sectoral Applications Research Program.