Weather and Climate Dynamics
Weather and Climate Dynamics
WCD
Articles | Volume 3, issue 3
Articles | Volume 3, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1063-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1063-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 3, issue 3
Research article
 | 
14 Sep 2022
Research article |  | 14 Sep 2022

Predictability of a tornado environment index from El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Arctic Oscillation

Michael K. Tippett, Chiara Lepore, and Michelle L. L’Heureux

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1063-2022-supplement

Data sets

Cold & Warm Episodes by Season NOAA Climate Prediction Center https://origin.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ONI_v5.php

Monthly mean AO index since January 1950 NOAA Climate Prediction Center https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/daily_ao_index/monthly.ao.index.b50.current.ascii.table

Climate Forecast System (CFS) Version 2 NOAA Environmental Modelling Center http://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/SOURCES/.NOAA/.NCEP/.EMC/.CFSv2/

U.S. tornadoes (1950-2021) NOAA Storm Prediction Center https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2021_actual_tornadoes.csv

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Short summary
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) are phenomena that affect the weather and climate of North America. Although ENSO hails from from the tropical Pacific and the AO high above the North Pole, the spatial patterns of their influence on a North American tornado environment index are remarkably similar in computer models. We find that when ENSO and the AO act in concert, their impact is large, and when they oppose each other, their impact is small.
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