While winter snowfall and extreme freezes may well decrease in the next century, floods, precipitation, and hurricanes could worsen. The Northeast, with its extensive coastline, is home to many biologically rich estuaries, bays, and wetlands. Many of these, such as the Chesapeake Bay, are already severely stressed by pollution and development. Climate change is likely to worsen these stresses upsetting the Chesapeake, for example, with increased water temperature and lower salinity. Furthermore, sea level rise will mean loss of wetlands.
Climate change is also likely to affect the highly urbanized centers of the Northeast in many ways.
Problems could arise with air pollution, water supply, electric power, and heat-related health effects. Climate change is also expected to limit the currently abundant recreational opportunities in the Northeast, which range from Atlantic beaches to Appalachian ski areas. Southeast The Southeast region which ranges from Virginia to coastal East Texas has been getting warmer and wetter over the last century. Models tend to agree that the warming will continue but disagree as to whether the warming will dry things out enough to offset possible increased precipitation. The Southeast is familiar with weather disasters like hurricanes, floods, and storm surges which drastically affect the lives of tens of thousands of people.