Interannual and Interdecadal Variability in the Storm Track, Cloudiness, and Sea Surface Temperature over the Summertime North Pacific

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Abstract
Interannual and interdecadal variability in the summertime mean North Pacific storm track is examined in relation to summertime mean sea surface temperature (SST), nimbostratus, and marine stratiform cloudiness (MSC) (stratus, stratocumulus, fog). The storm track is diagnosed by root-mean-squared daily vertical velocity at 500 mb during the summer season (rms ω) obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis. The cloud and SST data are obtained from surface observations. Year-to-year variations in the storm track exhibit significant coupling to variations in cloudiness and SST across the North Pacific. These correspond to coincident latitudinal shifts in the storm track, SST gradient, and MSC gradient. Moreover, both rms ω and nimbostratus show that the storm track moved equatorward and intensified between 1952 and 1995, consistent with the previously documented upward trend in MSC and downward trend in SST. Lead–lag relationshi... Abstract Interannual and interdecadal variability in the summertime mean North Pacific storm track is examined in relation to summertime mean sea surface temperature (SST), nimbostratus, and marine stratiform cloudiness (MSC) (stratus, stratocumulus, fog). The storm track is diagnosed by root-mean-squared daily vertical velocity at 500 mb during the summer season (rms ω) obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis. The cloud and SST data are obtained from surface observations. Year-to-year variations in the storm track exhibit significant coupling to variations in cloudiness and SST across the North Pacific. These correspond to coincident latitudinal shifts in the storm track, SST gradient, and MSC gradient. Moreover, both rms ω and nimbostratus show that the storm track moved equatorward and intensified between 1952 and 1995, consistent with the previously documented upward trend in MSC and downward trend in SST. Lead–lag relationshi...

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