A link between winter precipitation in Europe and the Arctic Sea ice, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation

Abstract

The spatial and temporal pattern of the link between the winter precipitation variability and variations in the North Atlantic sea surface temperature, the Arctic sea ice concentration, and 500 hPa geopotential height in the Northern Hemisphere is analyzed for the period of 1952-2012. The analysis reveals two principal modes of covariability in the analyzed characteristics. The first mode which explains the most part of covariability, is related to the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The second mode indicates the significant contribution of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation associated with winter precipitation anomalies of the same sign in Europe with the maxima on the East European Plain and in the Balkan region during the positive phase of AMO.