Eurasian snow cover variability and northern hemisphere climate predictability

Abstract

We present observational evidence demonstrating dynamic interactions and feedbacks between multi‐seasonal snow cover and winter‐time circulation anomalies over mid‐high latitudes. The cooling effect of snow cover is associated with a strengthened and more expansive Siberian high with more frequent, topographically constrained intrusions west and north. Early‐season snow cover variability leads to altered general circulation patterns consistent with the dominant mode of winter variability observed in the Northern Hemisphere troposphere. The implications of the surface‐atmosphere coupling for seasonal to interannual predictability are also discussed.