Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective

Abstract The winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has varied on interannual and decadal timescales over the last century, associated with variations in the speed and latitude of the eddy‐driven jet stream. This paper uses hindcasts from two operational seasonal forecast systems (the European Cent...

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Main Authors: Tess Parker, Tim Woollings, Antje Weisheimer, Chris O'Reilly, Laura Baker, Len Shaffrey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084402
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author Tess Parker
Tim Woollings
Antje Weisheimer
Chris O'Reilly
Laura Baker
Len Shaffrey
author_facet Tess Parker
Tim Woollings
Antje Weisheimer
Chris O'Reilly
Laura Baker
Len Shaffrey
author_sort Tess Parker
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has varied on interannual and decadal timescales over the last century, associated with variations in the speed and latitude of the eddy‐driven jet stream. This paper uses hindcasts from two operational seasonal forecast systems (the European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts's seasonal forecast system, and the U.K. Met Office global seasonal forecast system) and a century‐long atmosphere‐only experiment (using the European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts's Integrated Forecasting System model) to relate seasonal prediction skill in the NAO to these aspects of jet variability. This shows that the NAO skill realized so far arises from interannual variations in the jet, largely associated with its latitude rather than speed. There likely remains further potential for predictability on longer, decadal timescales. In the small sample of models analyzed here, improved representation of the structure of jet variability does not translate to enhanced seasonal forecast skill.
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publishDate 2019-08-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-e2c2125826ce48088b95bfe67cffb2a72025-08-20T02:24:35ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-08-014616101591016710.1029/2019GL084402Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream PerspectiveTess Parker0Tim Woollings1Antje Weisheimer2Chris O'Reilly3Laura Baker4Len Shaffrey5Department of Physics University of Oxford Oxford UKDepartment of Physics University of Oxford Oxford UKDepartment of Physics University of Oxford Oxford UKDepartment of Physics University of Oxford Oxford UKNational Centre for Atmospheric Science University of Reading Reading UKNational Centre for Atmospheric Science University of Reading Reading UKAbstract The winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has varied on interannual and decadal timescales over the last century, associated with variations in the speed and latitude of the eddy‐driven jet stream. This paper uses hindcasts from two operational seasonal forecast systems (the European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts's seasonal forecast system, and the U.K. Met Office global seasonal forecast system) and a century‐long atmosphere‐only experiment (using the European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts's Integrated Forecasting System model) to relate seasonal prediction skill in the NAO to these aspects of jet variability. This shows that the NAO skill realized so far arises from interannual variations in the jet, largely associated with its latitude rather than speed. There likely remains further potential for predictability on longer, decadal timescales. In the small sample of models analyzed here, improved representation of the structure of jet variability does not translate to enhanced seasonal forecast skill.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084402North Atlantic Oscillationjet streamseasonal forecastingECMWF IFS
spellingShingle Tess Parker
Tim Woollings
Antje Weisheimer
Chris O'Reilly
Laura Baker
Len Shaffrey
Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
Geophysical Research Letters
North Atlantic Oscillation
jet stream
seasonal forecasting
ECMWF IFS
title Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
title_full Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
title_fullStr Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
title_short Seasonal Predictability of the Winter North Atlantic Oscillation From a Jet Stream Perspective
title_sort seasonal predictability of the winter north atlantic oscillation from a jet stream perspective
topic North Atlantic Oscillation
jet stream
seasonal forecasting
ECMWF IFS
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084402
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