Variability of tropical upper tropospheric humidity 1979–1998

We update the time series of upper tropospheric humidity observations, begun in 1979 through May 1998, which includes the major El Niño event of 1997–1998. The intercalibration of different satellites is updated and compared to a physically based intercalibration. The results show excellent agreement and indicate that the main source of intersatellite bias is the known filter response function of the different instruments. Interannual variability of spatial fields is dominated by the major El Niño events in the 1979–1998 time period. Tropical average anomaly time series of upper tropospheric humidity, however, are dominated by a pronounced seasonal preference in extremes. Large deviations from the anomaly time series are twice as likely to occur in boreal winter and spring as in boreal summer and fall. During boreal winter and spring, the tropical basic state circulation permits the opening of a westerly wave duct such that midlatitude Rossby waves can propagate into the subtropics and tropics. We hypothesize that variation in the Rossby wave activity modulates the vertical water vapor flux and is responsible for large variations in the tropical upper tropospheric humidity time series.