A simple linear model is used to estimate the decadal response of the extratropical ocean to wind stress forcing, assuming a flat bottom, a mean state at rest, and no dissipation. The barotropic fields are governed by a time-dependent Sverdrup balance, the baroclinic ones by the long Rossby wave equation. The ocean is bounded by a coast in the east and a radiation condition is used in the west. At each frequency, the baroclinic response consists of a forced response plus a Rossby wave generated at the eastern boundary. For zonally independent forcing, the response propagates westward at twice the Rossby phase speed. The wind stress is assumed to be stochastic with a white frequency spectrum, so the model represents the continuous excitation of the ocean interior by the weather fluctuations. The model predicts the shape and level of the frequency spectra of the oceanic pressure field and their variation with longitude and latitude. The baroclinic response is spread over a continuum of frequencies,... Abstract A simple linear model is used to estimate the decadal response of the extratropical ocean to wind stress forcing, assuming a flat bottom, a mean state at rest, and no dissipation. The barotropic fields are governed by a time-dependent Sverdrup balance, the baroclinic ones by the long Rossby wave equation. The ocean is bounded by a coast in the east and a radiation condition is used in the west. At each frequency, the baroclinic response consists of a forced response plus a Rossby wave generated at the eastern boundary. For zonally independent forcing, the response propagates westward at twice the Rossby phase speed. The wind stress is assumed to be stochastic with a white frequency spectrum, so the model represents the continuous excitation of the ocean interior by the weather fluctuations. The model predicts the shape and level of the frequency spectra of the oceanic pressure field and their variation with longitude and latitude. The baroclinic response is spread over a continuum of frequencies,...