Summer U.K. Temperature and Its Links to Preceding Eurasian Snow Cover, North Atlantic SSTs, and the NAO

Abstract

Motivated by an attempt to predict summer (June?August) U.K. temperatures, the time-lagged correlations between summer U.K. and European temperatures and prior snow cover, North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are examined. The analysis centers on the 30-yr period 1972?2001 corresponding to the interval of reliable satellite-derived land snow cover data. A significant association is found between late winter Eurasian snow cover and upcoming summer temperatures over the British Isles and adjacent areas, this link being strongest with January?March snow cover. Significant links are also observed between summer temperatures and the preceding late winter NAO index and with a leading principal component of North Atlantic SST variability. The physical mechanisms underlying these time-lagged correlations are investigated by studying the associated variability in large-scale atmospheric circulation over the Euro?Atlantic sector. Seasonal expansion in the Azores high pressure system may play an important role in the time-lagged relationships. The potential seasonal predictability of summer U.K. temperatures during the period 1972?2001 is assessed by cross-validated hindcasts and usable predictive skill is found. However, the presence and cause of temporal instability in the time-lagged relationships over longer periods of time requires further investigation.