Climate over the Northern Great Plains has generally warmed over the last 60 years. The rate of warming has not been uniform over time and space, e.g., increased length of the growing season and accumulated heat units. Similar to increasing temperature there has been an irregular increase in precipitation over much of this region. Present-day trends in temperature and precipitation generally agree with the direction of predicted climate change and provide some confidence in the climate trends predicted by general circulation models over the next century. Pulse crops are relatively new and are being rapidly accepted in the Northern Great Plains. Our review is focused on sustainability of pulse crops in the Northern Great Plains and possible repercussions of climate change, focusing on the growth and yield response of these crops to temperature and water, and the climate restrictions that define their current geographic locations. The resilience of pulse crops to present-day weather extremes such as drought, excess water, heat, cool weather during grain filling and early frost are discussed as key considerations to define pulse crop adaptation to future climates. Factors which will be addressed include changes to crop water-use efficiency brought on by increased CO2 fertilization, accelerated growth rates resulting from higher air temperatures and total crop failures caused by an increased occurrence and magnitude of weather extremes. Adaptation strategies to be considered include earlier seeding of pulse crops to coincide with warmer spring conditions and avoid mid to late summer droughts, and use of winter pulses to take advantage of milder winters and spring moisture conditions. Crop sequencing within crop rotations and alterations to the microclimate such as direct seeding into standing stubble are areas of research providing promise for adaptation of pulse crops to future climates.