Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Stratospheric influence on tropospheric jet streams, storm tracks and surface weather

Nature Geoscience volume 8, pages 433–440 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

A powerful influence on the weather that we experience on the ground can be exerted by the stratosphere. This highly stratified layer of Earth's atmosphere is found 10 to 50 kilometres above the surface and therefore above the weather systems that develop in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The troposphere is dynamically coupled to fluctuations in the speed of the circumpolar westerly jet that forms in the winter stratosphere: a strengthening circumpolar jet causes a poleward shift in the storm tracks and tropospheric jet stream, whereas a weakening jet causes a shift towards the equator. Following a weakening of the stratospheric jet, impacts on the surface weather include a higher likelihood of extremely low temperature over northern Europe and the eastern USA. Eddy feedbacks in the troposphere amplify the surface impacts, but the mechanisms underlying these dynamics are not fully understood. The same dynamical relationships act at very different timescales, ranging from daily variations to longer-term climate trends, suggesting a single unifying mechanism across timescales. Ultimately, an improved understanding of the dynamical links between the stratosphere and troposphere is expected to lead to improved confidence in both long-range weather forecasts and climate change projections.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Persistence of circulation anomalies.
Figure 2: Northern Hemisphere stratosphere–troposphere coupling across timescales.
Figure 3: Southern Hemisphere stratosphere–troposphere coupling.
Figure 4: Surface temperature anomalies.
Figure 5: Ocean response.

References

  1. Gerber, E. P. et al. Assessing and understanding the impact of stratospheric dynamics and variability on the Earth system. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 93, 845–859 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Charney, J. G. & Drazin, P. G. Propagation of planetary-scale disturbances from the lower into the upper atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 66, 83–109 (1961).

    Google Scholar 

  3. McIntyre, M. E. & Palmer, T. N. The “surf-zone” in the stratosphere. J. Atmos. Terr. Phys. 46, 825–849 (1984).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Labitzke, K. & Kunze, M. On the remarkable Arctic winter in 2008/2009. J. Geophys. Res. 114, D00I02 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Butler, A. H. et al. Defining sudden stratospheric warmings. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00173.1 (2015).

  6. Thompson, D. W. J., Baldwin, M. P. & Solomon, S. Stratosphere-troposphere coupling in the Southern Hemisphere. J. Atmos. Sci. 62, 708–715 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Scaife, A. A. & James, I. N. Response of the stratosphere to interannual variability of tropospheric planetary waves. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 126, 275–297 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hitchcock, P. & Simpson, I. R. 2014: The downward influence of stratospheric sudden warmings. J. Atmos. Sci. 71, 3856–3876 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kunz, T. & Greatbatch, R. J. On the Northern Annular Mode surface signal associated with stratospheric variability. J. Atmos. Sci. 70, 2103–2118 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Baldwin, M. P. & Dunkerton, T. J. Stratospheric harbingers of anomalous weather regimes. Science 294, 581–584 (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Black, R. X. Stratospheric forcing of surface climate in the Arctic oscillation. J. Clim. 15, 268–277 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Thompson, D. W. J., Baldwin, M. P. & Wallace J. M. Stratospheric connection to Northern Hemisphere wintertime weather: implications for prediction. J. Clim. 15, 1421–1428 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Scaife, A. A., Knight, J. R., Vallis, G. K. & Folland, C. K. A stratospheric influence on the winter NAO and North Atlantic surface climate. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, 1–5 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kolstad, E. W., Breiteig, T. & Scaife, A. A. The association between stratospheric weak polar vortex events and cold air outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 136, 886–893 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Butchart, N. et al. Multimodel climate and variability of the stratosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D05102 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Gerber, E. P. et al. Stratosphere-troposphere coupling and annular mode variability in chemistryclimate models. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00M06 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Baldwin, M. P. & Dunkerton, T. J. Propagation of the Arctic Oscillation from the stratosphere to the troposphere. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 30937–30946 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Scaife, A. A. et al. Climate change projections and stratosphere-troposphere interaction. Clim. Dynam. 38, 2089–2097 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Sigmond, M., Scinocca, J. F. & Kushner, P. J. Impact of the stratosphere on tropospheric climate change. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L12706 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Polvani, L. M., Waugh, D. W., Correa, G. J. P. & Son, S-W. Stratospheric ozone depletion: The main driver of twentieth-century atmospheric circulation changes in the Southern Hemisphere. J. Clim. 24, 795–812 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Karpechko, A. Y. & Manzini, E. Stratospheric influence on tropospheric climate change in the Northern Hemisphere. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D05133 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hardiman, S. C., Butchart, N., Hinton, T. J., Osprey, S. M. & Gray, L. J. The effect of a wellresolved stratosphere on surface climate: Differences between CMIP5 simulations with high and low top versions of the Met Office climate model. J. Clim. 25, 7083–7099 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Bell, C. J., Gray, L. J., Charlton-Perez, A. J., Joshi, M. M. & Scaife, A. A. Stratospheric communication of El Niño teleconnections to European winter. J. Clim. 22, 4083–4096 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Cagnazzo, C. & Manzini, E. Impact of the stratosphere on the winter tropospheric teleconnections between ENSO and the North Atlantic and European region. J. Clim. 22, 1223–1238 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Ineson, S. & Scaife, A. A. The role of the stratosphere in the European climate response to El Niño. Nature Geosci. 2, 32–36 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Haigh, J. D. The impact of solar variability on climate. Science 272, 981–984 (1996).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Gray, L. J. et al. Solar influences on climate. Rev. Geophys. 48, RG4001 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Ineson, S. et al. Solar forcing of winter climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere. Nature Geosci. 4, 753–757 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Stenchikov, G. et al. Arctic Oscillation response to the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption: Effects of volcanic aerosols and ozone depletion. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 4803 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Driscoll, S., Bozzo, A., Gray, L. J., Robock, A. & Stenchikov, G. Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) simulations of climate following volcanic eruptions. J. Geophys. Res. 117, D17105 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Haigh, J. D., Blackburn, M. & Day, R. The response of tropospheric circulation to perturbations in lower-stratospheric temperature. J. Clim. 18, 3672–3685 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Kodera, K. & Kuroda, Y. A possible mechanism of solar modulation of the spatial structure of the North Atlantic Oscillation. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D02111 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Christiansen, B. Volcanic eruptions, large-scale modes in the Northern Hemisphere, and the El Niño- Southern Oscillation. J. Clim. 21, 910–922 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Simpson, I. R., Blackburn, M. & Haigh, J. D. The role of eddies in driving the tropospheric response to stratospheric heating perturbations. J. Atmos. Sci. 66, 1347–1365 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Reichler, T., Kim, J., Manzini, E. & Kroger, J. A stratospheric connection to Atlantic climate variability. Nature Geosci. 5, 783–787 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Scaife, A. A. et al. A mechanism for lagged North Atlantic climate response to solar variability. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 434–439 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Butchart, N. The Brewer-Dobson circulation. Rev. Geophys. 52, 157–184 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Thompson, D. W. J. & Solomon, S. Interpretation of recent Southern Hemisphere climate change. Science 296, 895–899 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  39. Arblaster, J. M. & Meehl, G. A. Contributions of external forcings to Southern Annular Mode trends. J. Clim. 19, 2896–2905 (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  40. Son, S-W. et al. Impact of stratospheric ozone on Southern Hemisphere circulation change: A multimodel assessment. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00M07 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Thompson, D. W. J. et al. Signatures of the Antarctic ozone hole in Southern Hemisphere surface climate change. Nature Geosci. 4, 741–749 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Kang, S. M., Polvani, L. M., Fyfe, J. C. & Sigmond, M. Impact of polar ozone depletion on subtropical precipitation. Science 332, 951–954 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Plumb, R. A. & Semeniuk, K. Downward migration of extratropical zonal wind anomalies. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 4223 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Norton, W. A. Sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere surface climate to simulation of the stratospheric polar vortex. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 1627 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Hardiman, S. C. & Haynes, P. H. Dynamical sensitivity of the stratospheric circulation and downward influence of upper level perturbations. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D23103 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Scaife, A. A. & Knight, J. R. Ensemble simulations of the cold European winter of 2005–2006. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 134, 1647–1659 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  47. Haynes, P. H., McIntyre, M. E., Shepherd, T. G., Marks, C. J. & Shine, K. P. On the “downward control” of extratropical diabatic circulations by eddy-induced mean zonal forces. J. Atmos. Sci. 48, 651–678 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Hartley, D. E., Villarin, J. T., Black, R. X. & Davis, C. A. A new perspective on the dynamical link between the stratosphere and troposphere. Nature 391, 471–474 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Thompson, D. W. J., Furtado, J. C. & Shepherd, T. G. On the tropospheric response to anomalous stratospheric wave drag and radiative heating. J. Atmos. Sci. 63, 2616–2629 (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  50. Charlton, A. J., O'neill, A., Berrisford, P. & Lahoz, W. A. Can the dynamical impact of the stratosphere on the troposphere be described by large-scale adjustment to the stratospheric PV distribution? Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 131, 525–543 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Mitchell, D. M., Gray, L. J., Anstey, J., Baldwin, M. P. & Charlton-Perez, A. J. The influence of stratospheric vortex displacements and splits on surface climate. J. Clim. 26, 2668–2682 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  52. Song, Y. C. & Robinson, W. A. Dynamical mechanisms for stratospheric influences on the troposphere. J. Atmos. Sci. 61, 1711–1725 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  53. Garfinkel, C. I., Waugh, D. W. & Gerber, E. P. The effect of tropospheric jet latitude on coupling between the stratospheric polar vortex and the troposphere. J. Clim. 26, 2077–2095 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  54. Maycock, A. C., Joshi, M. M., Shine, K. P. & Scaife, A. A. The circulation response to idealized changes in stratospheric water vapor. J. Clim. 26, 545–561 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  55. Gerber, E. P., Polvani, L. M. & Ancukiewicz, D. Annular mode time scales in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report models. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L22707 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  56. Mudryk, L. R. & Kushner, P. J. A method to diagnose sources of annular mode time scales. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D14114 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  57. Lorenz, D. J. & Hartmann, D. L. Eddy-zonal flow feedback in the Southern Hemisphere. J. Atmos. Sci. 58, 3312–3327 (2001).

    Google Scholar 

  58. Lorenz, D. J. & Hartmann, D. L. Eddy-zonal flow feedback in the Northern Hemisphere winter. J. Clim. 16, 1212–1227 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  59. Kidston, J., Renwick, J. A., Frierson, D. M. W. & Vallis, G. K. Observations, simulations, and dynamics of jet stream variability and annular modes. J. Clim. 23, 6186–6199 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  60. Blanco-Fuentes, J. & Zurita-Gotor, P. The driving of baroclinic anomalies at different timescales. Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L23805 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  61. Simpson, I. R., Shepherd, T. G., Hitchcock, P. & Scinocca, J. F. Southern Annular Mode dynamics in observations and models. Part II: eddy feedbacks. J. Clim. 26, 5220–5241 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  62. McLandress, C., Shepherd, T. G. et al. Separating the dynamical effects of climate change and ozone depletion. Part II: Southern Hemisphere troposphere. J. Clim. 24, 1850–1868 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  63. Hitchcock, P., Shepherd, T. G. & Manney, G. L. Statistical characterization of Arctic polar-night jet oscillation events. J. Clim. 26, 2096–2116 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  64. Hitchcock, P., Shepherd, T. G., Taguchi, M., Yoden, S. & Noguchi, S. Lower-stratospheric radiative damping and polar-night jet oscillation events. J. Atmos. Sci. 70, 1391–1408 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  65. Limpasuvan, V. & Hartmann, D. L. Wave-maintained annular modes of climate variability. J. Clim. 13, 4414–4429 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  66. Perlwitz, J. & Harnik, N. Downward coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere: The relative roles of wave and zonal mean processes. J. Clim. 17, 4902–4909 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  67. Woollings, T., Charlton-Perez, A., Ineson, S., Marshall, A. G. & Masato, G. Associations between stratospheric variability and tropospheric blocking. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D06108 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  68. Tomassini, L., Gerber, E. P., Baldwin, M. P., Bunzel, F. & Giorgetta, M. The role of stratospheretroposphere coupling in the occurrence of extreme winter cold spells over northern Europe. J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst. 4, M00A03 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  69. Sigmond, M., Scinocca, J. F., Kharin, V. V. & Shepherd, T. G. Enhanced seasonal forecast skill following stratospheric sudden warmings. Nature Geosci. 6, 98–102 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  70. Scaife, A. A., Folland, C. K., Alexander, L. V., Moberg, A. & Knight, J. R. European climate extremes and the North Atlantic Oscillation. J. Clim. 21, 72–83 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  71. Greatbatch, R. J., Gollan, G., Jung, T. & Kunz, T. Tropical origin of the severe European winter of 1962/1963. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 141, 153–165 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  72. Fereday, D. R., Maidens, A., Arribas, A., Scaife, A. A. & Knight, J. R. Seasonal forecasts of Northern Hemisphere winter 2009/10. Environ. Res. Lett. 7, 034031 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  73. Anstey, J. A. & Shepherd, T. G. High-latitude influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation. Q. J. R. Metoerol. Soc. 140, 1–21 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  74. Huntingford, C. et al. Potential influences on the United Kingdom's floods of winter 2013/14. Nature Clim. Change 4, 769–777 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  75. O'Callaghan, A., Joshi, M., Stevens, D. & Mitchell, D. The effects of different sudden stratospheric warming type on the ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 7739–7745 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  76. Lenton, A. et al. Stratospheric ozone depletion reduces ocean carbon uptake and enhances ocean acidification. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L12606 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  77. Cagnazzo, C., Manzini, E., Fogli, P. G., Vichi, M. & Davini, P. Role of stratospheric dynamics in the ozone-carbon connection in the Southern Hemisphere. Clim. Dynam. 41, 3039–3054 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  78. Scaife, A. A. et al. Predictability of the quasi-biennial oscillation and its northern winter teleconnection on seasonal to decadal timescales. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 1752–1758 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  79. Manzini, E. et al. Northern winter climate change: Assessment of uncertainty in CMIP5 projections related to stratosphere-troposphere coupling. J. Geophys. Res. 119, 7979–7998 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  80. Plougonven, R. & Zhang, F. Internal gravity waves from atmospheric jets and fronts. Rev. Geophys. 52, 33–76 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  81. Baldwin, M. P. et al. Stratospheric memory and skill of extended-range weather forecasts. Science 301, 636–640 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  82. Marshall, A. G. & Scaife, A. A. Improved predictability of stratospheric sudden warming events in an atmospheric general circulation model with enhanced stratospheric resolution. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D16114 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  83. Hardiman, S. C. et al. Improved predictability of the troposphere using stratospheric final warmings. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D18113 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  84. Charron, M. et al. The Stratospheric extension of the Canadian global deterministic medium-range weather forecasting system and its impact on tropospheric forecasts. Mon. Weather Rev. 140, 1924–1944 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  85. Riddle, E. E., Butler, A. H., Furtado, J. C., Cohen, J. L. & Kumar, A. CFSv2 ensemble prediction of the wintertime Arctic Oscillation. Clim. Dynam. 41, 1099–1116 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  86. Scaife, A. A. et al. Skilful long range prediction of European and North American winters. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 2514–2519 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  87. Stockdale, T. N., Molteni, F. & Ferranti, L. Atmospheric initial conditions and the predictability of the Arctic Oscillation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42, 1173–1179 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  88. Mukougawa, H., Hirooka, T. & Kuroda, Y. Influence of stratospheric circulation on the predictability of the tropospheric Northern Annular Mode. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L08814 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  89. Seviour, W. J. M. et al. Skillful seasonal prediction of the Southern Annular Mode and Antarctic ozone. J. Clim. 27, 7462–7474 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  90. Goddard, L. et al. A verification framework for interannual-to-decadal predictions experiments. Clim. Dynam. 40, 245–272 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  91. Smith, D. M., Scaife, A. A. & Kirtman, B. P. What is the current state of scientific knowledge with regard to seasonal and decadal forecasting? Environ. Res. Lett. 7, 015602 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  92. Gerber, E. P., Orbe, C. & Polvani, L. M. Stratospheric influence on the tropospheric circulation revealed by idealized ensemble forecasts. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L24801 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  93. Deser, C., Phillips, A., Bourdette, V. & Teng, H. Uncertainty in climate change projections: the role of internal variability. Clim. Dynam. 38, 527–546 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  94. Morgenstern, O. et al. Anthropogenic forcing of the Northern Annular Mode in CCMVal-2 models. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D00M03 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  95. Osprey, S. M. et al. The climatology of the middle atmosphere in a vertically extended version of the Met Office's climate model. Part II: variability. J. Atmos. Sci. 67, 3637–3651 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  96. Andrews, D. G., Holton, J. R. & Leovy, C. B. Middle Atmosphere Dynamics Section 3.5, 127–130 (Academic Press 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  97. Haynes, P. H. Stratospheric dynamics. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 37, 263–293 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  98. Haynes, P. H. & Shepherd, T. G. The importance of surface pressure changes in the response of the atmosphere to zonally-symmetric thermal and mechanical forcing. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 115, 1181–1208 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  99. Ambaum, M. H. P. & Hoskins, B. J. The NAO troposphere-stratosphere connection. J. Clim. 15, 1969–1978 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  100. Thompson, D. W. J. & Birner, T. On the linkages between the tropospheric isentropic slope and eddy fluxes of heat during Northern Hemisphere winter. J. Atmos. Sci. 69, 1811–1823 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

J.K. was partly supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award ARC DE120102645, and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Climate System Science. The work of A.A.S., S.C.H. and N.B. was supported by the Joint UK DECC/Defra Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme (GA01101). All the authors thank E. Gerber for his thought-provoking and constructive comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. The generous assistance of S. Osprey and S. Ineson with the redrawing of Figs 1 and 2, respectively, is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks also to J. Arblaster, C. Cagnazzo, M. Machin, T. Reichler, and D. Thompson.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 15 Canning Crescent, OX1 4XA, Oxford, UK

    Joseph Kidston

  2. Met Office Hadley Centre, Met Office, FitzRoy Road, EX1 3PB, Exeter, UK

    Adam A. Scaife, Steven C. Hardiman & Neal Butchart

  3. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, OX1 3PU, Oxford, UK

    Daniel M. Mitchell & Lesley J. Gray

  4. University of Exeter, Harrison Building, North Park Road, EX4 4QH, Exeter, UK

    Mark P. Baldwin

Authors
  1. Joseph Kidston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adam A. Scaife
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Steven C. Hardiman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Daniel M. Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Neal Butchart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mark P. Baldwin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lesley J. Gray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

J.K. and A.A.S. created the schematic of stratosphere–troposphere coupling processes, all authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Neal Butchart.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kidston, J., Scaife, A., Hardiman, S. et al. Stratospheric influence on tropospheric jet streams, storm tracks and surface weather. Nature Geosci 8, 433–440 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2424

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2424

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing