Stratospheric Memory and Skill of Extended-Range Weather Forecasts

We use an empirical statistical model to demonstrate significant skill in making extended-range forecasts of the monthly-mean Arctic Oscillation (AO). Forecast skill derives from persistent circulation anomalies in the lowermost stratosphere and is greatest during boreal winter. A comparison to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Baldwin, Mark P., Stephenson, David B., Thompson, David W.J., Dunkerton, Timothy J., Charlton, Andrew J., O'Neill, Alan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2003
Subjects:
551 Geology
hydrology
meteorology
Arctic
Online Access:https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/1561/
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1087143
Description
Summary:We use an empirical statistical model to demonstrate significant skill in making extended-range forecasts of the monthly-mean Arctic Oscillation (AO). Forecast skill derives from persistent circulation anomalies in the lowermost stratosphere and is greatest during boreal winter. A comparison to the Southern Hemisphere provides evidence that both the time scale and predictability of the AO depend on the presence of persistent circulation anomalies just above the tropopause. These circulation anomalies most likely affect the troposphere through changes to waves in the upper troposphere, which induce surface pressure changes that correspond to the AO.

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