Articles | Volume 6, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-171-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-171-2025
Research article
 | 
07 Feb 2025
Research article |  | 07 Feb 2025

A process-based evaluation of biases in extratropical stratosphere–troposphere coupling in subseasonal forecast systems

Chaim I. Garfinkel, Zachary D. Lawrence, Amy H. Butler, Etienne Dunn-Sigouin, Irene Erner, Alexey Y. Karpechko, Gerbrand Koren, Marta Abalos, Blanca Ayarzagüena, David Barriopedro, Natalia Calvo, Alvaro de la Cámara, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Judah Cohen, Daniela I. V. Domeisen, Javier García-Serrano, Neil P. Hindley, Martin Jucker, Hera Kim, Robert W. Lee, Simon H. Lee, Marisol Osman, Froila M. Palmeiro, Inna Polichtchouk, Jian Rao, Jadwiga H. Richter, Chen Schwartz, Seok-Woo Son, Masakazu Taguchi, Nicholas L. Tyrrell, Corwin J. Wright, and Rachel W.-Y. Wu

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Cited articles

Afargan-Gerstman, H., Jiménez-Esteve, B., and Domeisen, D. I. V.: On the relative importance of stratospheric and tropospheric drivers for the North Atlantic jet response to sudden stratospheric warming events, J. Climate, 35, 6453–6467, 2022. a
Andrews, D. G., Leovy, C. B., and Holton, J. R.: Middle Atmosphere Dynamics, Academic Press, ISBN 978-0-08-051167-2, 1987. a
Ayarzagüena, B., Palmeiro, F. M., Barriopedro, D., Calvo, N., Langematz, U., and Shibata, K.: On the representation of major stratospheric warmings in reanalyses, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9469–9484, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9469-2019, 2019. a
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Baldwin, M. P., Ayarzagüena, B., Birner, T., Butchart, N., Butler, A. H.,Charlton-Perez, A. J., Domeisen, D. I., Garfinkel, C. I., Garny, H., Gerber, E. P., Hegglin, M. I., Langematz, U., and Pedatella, N. M.: Sudden stratospheric warmings, Rev. Geophys., 59, e2020RG000708, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020RG000708, 2021.​​​​​​​ a
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Short summary
Variability in the extratropical stratosphere and troposphere is coupled, and because of the longer timescales characteristic of the stratosphere, this allows for a window of opportunity for surface prediction. This paper assesses whether models used for operational prediction capture these coupling processes accurately. We find that most processes are too weak; however downward coupling from the lower stratosphere to the near surface is too strong.
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