Question for Prof Mets about PDO and NAO article

[EDR1222]

I was reading an article that had information from Chris Landsea and William Gray about the PDO and NAO phases and how they effect the strength of the bermuda high pressure ridge in the Atlantic Ocean during hurricane season. It was somewhat confusing for me since I am not a met. but I just wanted to see if I am reading this right. If the PDO is in the beginning of a cold phase does this have an effect on the North Atlantic Oscillation? The article said from 1995 to 2003, the NAO was negative. Since the PDO is entering a cold phase, are we to assume that the NAO is now positive? Can we expect to see stronger high pressure systems as we did this year, and less troughs along the east coast in the decades to come as a result of this? Just wondering if anyone out there had any information on this.

Thanks everyone,

Ed

[yoda]

Well if the NAO is positive, which it isn't right now, that means less snow on the EC...

[Aslkahuna]

The PDO and NAO operate on different time scales. The PDO is a decadal oscillation that may take 10-20 years to go through one phase while the NAO operates on much shorter time scales. However, the PDO COULD modulate the intensity of the phases of the NAO much as it does the phases of the ENSO and this might be what Landsea is talking about.

Steve