Synoptic weather pattern controls on temperature in Alaska

Data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research and European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts 40 year reanalyses are used to relate large‐scale synoptic circulation patterns to local weather at several locations across Alaska. These resul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research 2011-06, Vol.116 (D11), p.n/a, Article D11108
Main Authors: Cassano, Elizabeth N., Cassano, John J., Nolan, Matt
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
Atmospheric research
Atmospheric sciences
Climate change
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geophysics
Meteorology
Surface temperature
synoptic
temperature
Weather forecasting
Weather patterns
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Summary:Data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research and European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts 40 year reanalyses are used to relate large‐scale synoptic circulation patterns to local weather at several locations across Alaska. These results are compared to available National Weather Service observations to demonstrate the utility of this method such that it can be applied in future work at locations where local observations are not available. The focus of these comparisons is on surface observations of temperature. The results from the two reanalysis data sets match well to each other and to the observations. Synoptic patterns associated with warm/cold days at five National Weather Service stations representing different climate regions throughout Alaska are identified. In addition, a method to attribute a change in climate to circulation and noncirculation differences is applied to a known climate shift, the Pacific climate shift of 1976, which was associated with an increase in temperatures throughout Alaska. The results from this analysis show that general warming rather than changes in circulation is primarily responsible for the increase in temperatures after 1976. Key Points Reanalysis data are used to characterize synoptic patterns for Alaska Surface temperature in Alaska is related to the large‐scale synoptic patterns Temperature changes in Alaska around the 1976 Pacific climate shift are analyzed
ISSN:0148-0227
2169-897X
2156-2202
2169-8996
DOI:10.1029/2010JD015341