Air temperature impacts over Eastern North America and Europe associated with low‐frequency North Atlantic SST variability

Abstract

Air temperature anomalies over eastern North America and Europe are analysed during the extreme phases of the two leading low‐frequency modes of North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) during the 1906–2005 period. The leading mode of SST is a multi‐decadal signal—commonly referred to as the Atlantic multi‐decadal oscillation—with uniform polarity over the North Atlantic. Air temperature anomalies over the eastern United States and Northern Europe during extreme phases of this mode are of the same sign as the corresponding SST anomalies. The most intense air temperature impacts occur in summer months. The second mode exhibits considerable spectral energy in the quasi‐decadal (∼12 year) range. The spatial signature and associated air temperature anomalies of mode 2 are strongly correlated with both SST and land temperature impacts of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

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