Climate change may increase the frequency and intensity of storm events, causing flooding and runoff of nutrients from agricultural fields and lawns, sediment from fields and streambanks, and salt from roads and sidewalks.

Precipitation in winter is projected to more often be rain or freezing rain than snow, further increasing the threat of runoff if rain falls on frozen ground. Nutrient enrichment and sedimentation are among the leading causes of degradation of wet and wet-mesic prairies, and may also negatively impact upland grasslands by favoring non-native invasive and aggressive native species. Erosion may occur on steep slopes during extreme storm events, especially after a prescribed burn.