Changes of Subseasonal Variability Associated with El Niño

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Abstract
This paper is concerned with assessing the impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on atmospheric variability on synoptic, intraseasonal, monthly, and seasonal timescales. Global reanalysis data as well as atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations are used for this purpose. For the observational analysis, 53 yr of NCEP reanalyses are stratified into El Niño, La Niña, and neutral winters [Jan–Feb–Mar (JFM)]. The AGCM analysis is based on three sets of 180 seasonal integrations made with prescribed global sea surface temperatures corresponding to an observed El Niño event (JFM 1987), an observed La Niña event (JFM 1989), and climatological mean JFM conditions. These ensembles are large enough to estimate the ENSO-induced changes of variability even in regions not usually associated with an ENSO effect. The focus is on the anomalous variability of precipitation and 500-mb heights. The most important result from this analysis is that the patterns of the anomalous extratropica... Abstract This paper is concerned with assessing the impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on atmospheric variability on synoptic, intraseasonal, monthly, and seasonal timescales. Global reanalysis data as well as atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations are used for this purpose. For the observational analysis, 53 yr of NCEP reanalyses are stratified into El Niño, La Niña, and neutral winters [Jan–Feb–Mar (JFM)]. The AGCM analysis is based on three sets of 180 seasonal integrations made with prescribed global sea surface temperatures corresponding to an observed El Niño event (JFM 1987), an observed La Niña event (JFM 1989), and climatological mean JFM conditions. These ensembles are large enough to estimate the ENSO-induced changes of variability even in regions not usually associated with an ENSO effect. The focus is on the anomalous variability of precipitation and 500-mb heights. The most important result from this analysis is that the patterns of the anomalous extratropica...