Tropical-Extratropical Teleconnections during the Northern Hemisphere Winter. Part II: Relationships between Monthly Mean Northern Hemisphere Circulation Patterns and Proxies for Tropical Convection

Monthly mean teleconnections during the northern winter between proxies for tropical heating (OLR and SST data) and Northern Hemisphere 700 mb circulation patterns (PNA, TNH, and WPO) are examined, principally with correlation analysis. In particular it is found that positive projections on all three patterns are highly probable during certain strong ENSO winters but the means to predict their relative strengths was not discovered, although the absolute strength of the TNH pattern is directly related to SST anomalies in the central Pacific. Other ENSO winters also have a tendency for positive PNA and WPO projections, but for a negative TNH projection. For other winters the importance of an area north of the equator and 25 degrees to the west of the date line is confirmed as a probable source region for the PNA pattern. Another area about 25 degrees to the east of the date line is singled out as a possible tropical response to the PNA pattern. Implications for current and future GCM experiments and long-range prediction are discussed.