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Summer snow extent heralding of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation
Author(s) -
Saunders Mark A.,
Qian Budong,
LloydHughes Benjamin
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl016832
Subject(s) - north atlantic oscillation , climatology , snow , atlantic multidecadal oscillation , atlantic equatorial mode , snow cover , predictability , environmental science , oceanography , geology , geography , meteorology , physics , quantum mechanics
Winter climate over the North Atlantic and European sector is modulated by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We find that the summer extent of snow cover over northern North America and northern Eurasia is linked significantly ( p < 0.01) to the upcoming winter NAO state. Summers with high/low snow extent precede winters of low/high NAO index phase. We suggest the linkage arises from the summer snow‐associated formation of anomalous longitudinal differences in surface air temperature with the subpolar North Atlantic. Our findings indicate the seasonal predictability of North Atlantic winter climate may be higher and extend to longer leads than thought previously.