Snow Advance Index: A New Tool for Predicting Winter’s Severity 	                                                                   
                                                              Judah Cohen, PhD        
         
 
                                        November 14, 2011        
         
 
                                        
	
	
	
		
		
		
			
		
		
	
	
        
         
 
 [h=4]Snow Advance Index: A New Tool for Predicting Winter’s Severity  	Researchers at AER have developed a new Snow Advance Index that could  greatly improve the accuracy of winter seasonal forecasts. Based on  research and testing, this index for the first time can accurately  predict the severity of the upcoming winter. What makes this discovery  so significant is that advances in seasonal forecasting have remained  elusive, and for much of the United States seasonal forecasts are no  more accurate today then they were decades ago.
 [h=4]Benefit to industry and government  	Because weather impacts so many industries, this research and the  inclusion of the Snow Advance Index in seasonal forecasts have direct  benefit for businesses and government agencies that use long-range  forecasts to optimize their operations and financial results and  mitigate risk. Demonstrating this need, a recent report issued by the  National Academy of Sciences on climate prediction concluded that more  accurate climate forecasts would provide great benefit to society and  would improve decision making from the agriculture to the energy sector.
	 
  	
	
	
	
		
		
		
		
	
	
 [h=4]Why has accurate seasonal forecasting been so difficult?  	Significant improvements have been made in short term weather  forecasting. People rely on the nightly broadcast of the seven day  weather forecast, which is more often correct than not.
  	In contrast, making accurate seasonal forecasts continues to frustrate  the large government forecast centers. Despite the use of ever more  sophisticated climate models, the only demonstrable skill is that  associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Yet the  temperature forecast accuracy related to ENSO is limited to western  North America; and climate model forecasts for the Eastern US, Europe  and East Asia remain no better than using past history or even a coin  flip as a forecast tool.
 [h=4]Predicting the North Atlantic Oscillation or Arctic Oscillation (N/AO)  	The scientific community acknowledges that a different climate  phenomenon is strongly related to the weather in the Eastern US and  Europe. It’s known as the North Atlantic Oscillation or Arctic  Oscillation (N/AO) and is 
explained below.
  	Until now, the N/AO has been considered unpredictable; but this new  Snow Advance Index developed at AER can, for the first time, predict the  N/AO with a high degree of accuracy. Even more importantly, the Snow  Advance Index predicts with unprecedented accuracy winter temperatures  and thus the severity of winter weather in the Eastern US, Europe and  East Asia. This is discussed below and shown in the Figure.
 [h=4]How the N/AO impacts temperatures in Eastern US, Europe and East Asia  	The N/AO can be thought of as a 
winter severity index.
 
-  		When the N/AO index is high, winters in the Eastern US, Europe and East Asia are milder or less severe.
 
 
-  		In contrast, when the N/AO index is low, winters in the Eastern US,  Europe and East Asia are more severe with increased bouts of cold  weather and snowstorms.
 
  	The ability of forecasters to predict the N/AO, or winter severity  index, would provide significantly improved temperature forecasts for  the Eastern US, Europe and East Asia. Research at AER and other  institutions has shown a statistical relationship between the Eurasian  snow cover extent in October and the winter N/AO or the severity of  winter weather.
 
-  		 When there is more Eurasian snow cover in October, the following  winter N/AO is low and there is an increased frequency of severe weather  in the mid-latitudes.
 
 
-  		 When there is less Eurasian snow cover in October, the following  winter N/AO is high and there is a decrease in the frequency of severe  weather in the mid-latitudes.
 
 [h=4]AER Researchers demonstrate how the Snow Advance Index predicts the N/AO  	Until now only a moderate relationship has been demonstrated. However in a 
paper published in Geophysical Research Letters  by myself and Justin Jones, a new Snow Advance Index is developed that  is derived not from October mean snow cover extent, but rather as a  function of how slowly or quickly the snow cover advances across Eurasia  in October. This new Snow Advance Index is highly correlated with the  N/AO or winter severity index (see Figure).
 
-  		When snow cover advances rapidly across Eurasia in October, this is an  indication that the upcoming winter will be more severe for the Eastern  US, Europe and East Asia.
 
 
-  		When snow cover advances slowly across Eurasia in October this is an  indication that the upcoming winter will be milder for the Eastern US,  Europe and East Asia.
 
 [h=4]Using the Snow Advance Index to improve Forecast Skill  	Hindcasts or back testing of this new Snow Advance Index demonstrates  great potential in both predicting the N/AO and improving winter  temperature forecasts for much of the large population centers of the  Northern Hemisphere.
  	This new Snow Advance Index will be used for the first time in the AER winter forecast for the winter season of 2011-2012.
 [h=4]The link between the N/AO and Winter Severity  	The N/AO can be thought of as an index of high latitude blocking.
 
-  		When the N/AO is high, high latitude blocking is much less frequent.  The Jet Stream flows quickly from west to east carrying weather systems  along quickly and acts as a divide between cold air to the north and  warm air to the south. The Eastern US, Europe and East Asia, which lie  in the mid-latitudes, experience long stretches of mild weather, as they  remain cut off from cold, Arctic air masses.
 
 
-  		When the N/AO is low, high latitude blocking is more frequent. The  flow of air in the atmosphere is impeded or becomes blocked and the Jet  Stream is diverted from its normal trajectory and meanders north and  south around the high latitude blocking. Mixing of air masses occurs  with warm air flowing north into the Arctic and cold air flowing south  into the midlatitudes. The Eastern US, Europe and East Asia, which lie  in the mid-latitudes experience more severe winter weather, as Arctic  air masses repeatedly drive southward. Furthermore, the mixing of warm  and cold air masses fuel storms and with more abundant cold air, the  precipitation from these storms often falls as snow.