The Effect of the 1997/98 El Niño on Individual Large-Scale Weather Events

Abstract

Can an individual weather event be attributed to El Niño? This question is addressed quantitatively using ensembles of medium-range weather forecasts made with and without tropical sea surface temperature anomalies. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) operational medium-range forecast model is used. It is found that anomalous tropical forcing affects forecast skill in midlatitudes as early as the fifth day of the forecast. The effect of the anomalous sea surface temperatures in the medium range is defined as the synoptic El Niño signal. The synoptic El Niño signal over North America is found to vary from case to case and sometimes can depart dramatically from the pattern classically associated with El Niño. This method of parallel ensembles of medium-range forecasts provides information about the changing impacts of El Niño on timescales of a week or two that is not available from conventional seasonal forecasts. Knowledge of the synoptic El Niño signal can be used to attribute aspects of individual weather events to El Niño. Three large-scale weather events are discussed in detail: the January 1998 ice storm in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, the February 1998 rains in central and southern California, and the October 1997 blizzard in Colorado. Substantial impacts of El Niño are demonstrated in the first two cases. The third case is inconclusive.