JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, D08119, doi:10.

1029/2007JD008409, 2008

A climatology of the Northern Hemisphere winter anticyclones

L. Ioannidou1 and M. K. Yau1
Received 10 January 2007; revised 21 September 2007; accepted 13 December 2007; published 30 April 2008.

[1] A climatology of the Northern Hemisphere winter anticyclonic activity is presented

based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data set
for the 1957–2002 period (ERA-40) and a system-centered method of tracking
diagnostics. The method tracks the anticyclonic systems and monitors their evolution
along their paths thus allowing documentation of aspects that have been previously
overlooked due to the common perception of anticyclones as semi-stationary, relatively
uniform, slowly evolving structures. The anticyclonic signal is examined in a wide range
of meteorological fields and at multiple levels, over the continental masses, over the
subtropical ocean basins, and over the sectors where blocking highs tend to develop.
Structural features, thermal and vorticity properties, and mobility characteristics of the
corresponding anticyclones are highlighted. Over continental regions an association with
low level pools of cold air is found to be prevalent for the Eurasian anticyclones but less so
for the North American anticyclones. In the subtropical zone the anticyclonic signal in the
regions affected by the winter monsoon, including southeastern Asia and the western
Pacific features prominently in the upper levels. In the eastern sectors of the subtropical
ocean basins the anticyclonic signal is less deep. Intense anticyclonic development at low
levels is also identified over the western sectors of the subtropical continents where it
appears associated to the effect of orography and of low level cooling. The dominant type
of anticyclone observed in the regions of blocking is characterized by 5–6 days timescales
and considerable eastward mobility.
Citation: Ioannidou, L., and M. K. Yau (2008), A climatology of the Northern Hemisphere winter anticyclones, J. Geophys. Res.,
113, D08119, doi:10.1029/2007JD008409.

1. Introduction hancement of radiative emission in the lower troposphere in

[2] In contrast to cyclones that received a lot of attention
because of their direct link to active weather and precipita-
tion, climatological studies on anticyclones are few. How-
ever, anticyclones are associated with important weather
phenomena like droughts, cold weather spells, blowing
snow events, and clear sky conditions. Therefore they also
play an important role in affecting the radiation budget and
hydrological cycle that impact the Earth’s climate.
[3] Theoretical work has identified a number of mecha-
nisms for driving anticyclogenesis. The resulting anticy-
clones have different governing dynamics, scales, and
structures. There are planetary scale structures like the
subtropical anticyclones, intermediate scale structures like
the blocking highs, and mesoscale structures like the oro-
graphic and the continental cold-core anticyclones. The
forcing for the subtropical anticyclones is provided by the
descending branch of the Hadley cell and the induced low
level cooling due to suppression of convection and en-
1
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada.
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
0148-0227/08/2007JD008409
the descent region. Subtropical anticyclones are viewed as
cold, low-level semi-stationary structures with little varia-
tion in the longitudinal direction except for an increase in
intensity toward their eastern sector. In winter, the intensity
of anticyclonic development in the eastern sector of the
subtropical ocean basins has been associated with the
deflecting effect of the orographic barriers of the western
continental regions on the westerlies [Rodwell and Hoskins,
2001] (hereafter RH01). Blocking anticyclones are viewed
as barotropic, warm core, low PV structures whose growth
is associated with the transport of vorticity and heat by
transient eddies into the blocking domain. Finally, two
mechanisms that result in generation of negative relative
vorticity and can trigger anticyclogenesis are the uplift of
the air mass when traveling over a topographic barrier and
the intense low-level cooling that often occurs over conti-
nental regions in winter because of snow cover and/or
longwave radiative emission. Orographic anticyclones are
encountered in regions of high topography while the anti-
cyclones of the cold-core type over cold sectors of conti-
nental masses.
[4] The differences between the anticyclones of different
types are particularly evident in their thermal characteristics.
In the early literature anticyclones were classified by their
thermal character into ‘cold’-core, ‘warm’-core or ‘mixed’

D08119 1 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
anticyclones [Wexler, 1951]. The cold structure is consid-
ered characteristic of the continental anticyclones that are
directly linked to low level cooling, but also of the sub-
tropical anticyclones. By contrast, blocks are considered
deep warm-core structures.
[5] Although all anticyclonic types were studied theoret-
ically [Curry, 1987; Tan and Curry, 1993; RH01] it was
mainly the blocking type that was investigated in a clima-
tological context [Lupo and Smith, 1995 (hereafter LS95);
Pelly and Hoskins, 2003 (hereafter PH03); Barriopedro et
al., 2006]. Climatological work on the subtropical and
continental cold-core anticyclones was limited. Further,
the climatologies of the North American and Arctic anti-
cyclones compiled by Zishka and Smith [1980], Harman
[1987] and Serreze and Barry [1988] had a strongly
regional character. Little has been reported on the anti-
cyclones of the Eurasian continent.
[6] With the exception of Bell and Bosart [1989] and
Parker et al. [1989] who examine the 500 hPa field, and
Galarneau et al. [2008] (hereafter GBA08) who recently
analyzed closed anticyclone centers in the upper tropospheric
levels, the existing anticyclone climatologies concentrate
exclusively on the mean sea level pressure signal of anticy-
clonic development. As a result our knowledge on the
structural features, scales, vorticity and thermal character-
istics of anticyclones, and of their relationship to suggested
theoretical forcing mechanisms is limited. There is a strong
need to extend the analysis to a range of variables and vertical
levels so as to document thoroughly the anticyclonic struc-
ture and distribution in the Northern hemisphere.
[7] An aspect that has also been overlooked in earlier
work is the rich superposition of scales that characterizes
anticyclones. Dynamically this stems from the limitations of
the gradient wind balance, as this breaks down when
anticyclonic curvature increases beyond a certain point.
The built up of intense pressure gradients around the
anticyclonic center is thus prevented and a relatively smooth
pressure distribution is favored. Unlike cyclones that tend to
be single centered systems the appearance of secondary
centers of development is possible within the larger anticy-
clonic structures. Within the large Siberian anticyclone for
example the presence of several subcenters was identified
by Keegan [1958] who also noted that shifts of the activity
from one to the other Siberian subcenter were associated
with drastic changes in the hemispheric circulation.
[8] The objective of this study is to produce a compre-
hensive climatology of winter anticyclonic activity in the
Northern hemisphere. All anticyclonic types, including the
blocking anticyclones and the less documented subtropical
and continental anticyclones will be analyzed. The anticy-
clonic signal will be examined at several vertical levels and
in several variable fields so that the morphological features
and characteristic properties of anticyclones, such as their
mobility, lifespan and intensity of development can be
documented. The tendency of multiple, secondary centers
to develop and lie embedded within the larger anticyclonic
structures is an aspect of anticyclonic activity that will also
be documented.
[9] The hemispheric climatology will be based on the
analysis of the 45 years (1957– 2002) of ERA-40 data. The
45 year period that the data set covers is longer than
the periods analyzed in earlier climatologies and increases
2 of 17
D08119
the confidence in the generated climatological estimates. We
concentrate on the winter season of the Northern hemi-
sphere for two reasons. First, because the forcing for the
orographic, cold-core and blocking anticyclones is stronger
in winter. Second, because much less in known for winter
subtropical anticyclones than for their summer counterparts.
[10] The paper is structured as follows: In section 2 the
method of analysis, based on the tracking of anticyclonic
centers is presented. Section 3 is a brief introduction to the
distribution and variability of anticyclones as they appear in
the winter mean and variance fields. In section 4 the
anticyclonic signal, as revealed by the tracking diagnostics
and quantified through various measures of anticyclonic
activity, is documented extensively. Subsections 4.1, 4.2,
and 4.3 concentrate on the anticyclones of the continental,
subtropical and blocking sectors, respectively. The conclu-
sions are summarized in section 5.
2. Data Analysis
[11] The ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) covers 45 years
(1957– 2002) of data on 6 hourly intervals at a 2.5°
2.5°
resolution. The analyzed fields include those that directly
reflect anticyclonic development, like mean sea level pres-
sure (MSLP), geopotential height (Z), relative vorticity (z)
and potential vorticity (pv), where anticyclonic centers show
up as local maxima (MSLP, Z) or local minima (z, pv).
Temperature (T) is also studied, given the large variations in
the anticyclones’ thermal characteristics and their traditional
classification as ‘‘cold-core’’, ‘‘warm-core’’ or ‘‘mixed’’
types.
[12] A number of vertical levels are studied. Geopotential
height is examined at 500 and 250 hPa (Z500, Z250), relative
vorticity at 850 and 250 hPa (z 850, z 250), potential vorticity
at 250 hPa (pv250) and temperature at 850, 400 and 250 hPa
(T850, T400, T250). The 400 hPa level was chosen as optimal
for the temperature analysis because it reflects near-tropo-
pause developments in polar regions and mid-tropospheric
developments in the midlatitudes and the tropics. Geo-
potential height is not examined at 850 hPa as this level
reveals little additional information to the MSLP yet suffers
from similar drawbacks associated with the extrapolation
below topography. Geopotential height is examined at 100
and 50 hPa (Z100, Z50) as these levels reflect the strato-
spheric component of anticyclonic development in regions
of blocking activity. The winter period includes December,
January and February so that seasonal means refer to DJF
means. Table 1 gives a concise view of the analyzed
variables and levels.
[13] The feature tracking method designed by Hodges
[1994, 1995, 1999] and later applied to the study of cyclo-
nes by Hoskins and Hodges [2002, 2005] is employed. The
algorithm identifies extremes in a field exceeding a speci-
fied threshold and joins their positions at 6 h timeframes to
form tracks. The extremes are field maxima or minima,
depending on the analyzed variable, i.e., maxima for the
MSLP, minima for the vorticity. The part of the field that
exceeds the threshold is referred to as the anomaly associ-
ated with anticyclonic development.
[14] For the temperature both positive and negative
anomalies are tracked. No ‘‘a priori’’ assumption is made
on whether the anticyclones are cold or warm-core. The
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Table 1. Analysed Variables and Levelsa

Level MSLP Z z T(p) T(n) pv
sfc +
850 + +
500 +
400 +
250 + + + +
100 +
50 +
a
MSLP and Z refer to positive MSLP and height anomalies’ fields, z and
pv to fields of anticyclonic anomalies of relative and potential vorticity. For
temperature both positive T(p) and negative T(n) anomalies are analyzed.

tracking algorithm is applied independently to cold and

warm anomalies and any background knowledge about the
cold-core structure of the continental and subtropical anti-
cyclones or the warm-core structure of the blocking anti-
cyclones is only used as a base to be confirmed or refuted
by the analysis. If the anticyclonic tracks in MSLP coexist
with cold anomalies and no warm anomalies are found in
the region, the conclusion is drawn that the anticyclones are
cold-core. Conversely, if the anticyclonic tracks coexist with
warm anomalies and no cold anomalies are present, the
corresponding anticyclones are assumed to have a warm-
core structure.
[15] The selection of the threshold value is made as
follows. For the MSLP field for example, a spatial mean
is estimated of the MSLP values over the regions of the
hemisphere where anticyclonic development is identifiable
in the DJF mean. A spatial mean is then estimated of the
values of the standard deviation of the MSLP in the above
regions. They are referred to as the anticyclonic mean MA~
and the anticyclonic standard deviation sA~ respectively. The
threshold is set to exceed MA~ by 0.8 times sA~ . The specified
threshold values are shown for all fields in Table 2.
[16] The sensitivity to the threshold values is investigated
by varying the value added to MA~ between 0.3 sA~ and
1.5 sA~ . The patterns do not change qualitatively in the
above range and the locations of the anticyclonic centers in
the resulting distributions remain the same. Some problems
were identified at both ends of the range as the lower
threshold values often lead to identification of anticyclonic Figure 1. (a) Tracks of anticyclones at MSLP level for the
centers that are too weak and the higher values to 1980– 1981, 1981 – 1982, 1982 – 1983 DJF seasons. (b) The
elimination of all but the strongest centers. The value of average DJF mean sea level pressure over the 1957 – 2002
0.8 sA~ that lies near the middle of the range was considered period, in hPa.
optimal as it allowed identification of the anomalies at a
relatively early stage of their development while filtering
out the weakest developments. In Figure 1a an estimated tracks for the three consecutive years: 1980 –1981, 1981–
track ensemble at MSLP level is shown. It represents all the 1982, 1982– 1983.
[17] The track data are processed statistically so that
distributions are generated of genesis (gn) and lysis events
(ln) of the anticyclonic anomalies and of their characteristic
Table 2. Selected Threshold Values properties like lifetimes (lf) and intensities (pn). Density
distributions of anticyclonic tracks (tn) are also generated.
MSLP (hPa) Z500 (gpm) Z250 (gpm) Z100 (gpm) Z50 (gpm)
A genesis (lysis) event refers to the generation (decay) of an
Thre. 15.0 120.0 250.0 280.0 300.0 anomaly in the MSLP or other field and is registered when
pv250 (PVU) T850(n) (K) T850(p) (K) T400(p) (K) T250(p) (K) the value in the respective field along a track exceeds (falls
Thre. 2.5 10.0 10.0 7.0 4.5 below) the specified threshold. The lifetimes correspond to
the time that elapses between the genesis and lysis of an
z 250 (s1) anomaly while the intensity represents the mean value along
Thre. 4
105

3 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
Table 3. Presented Diagnostic Quantitiesa
ft gn ln tn lf
Z500 + +
Z250 + than those of the largest anticyclones. The removal is
Z100 + necessary for the comparison between anticyclones in
Z50 + +
T850(p) +
T400(p) + [Hoskins and Hodges, 2002]; the 45-year mean MSLP
T250(p) + distribution (Figure 1b) for example suggests that a value
T850(n) + of 1020 hPa is significantly higher than the 45-year mean
MSLP + + + +
z 250 +
pv250 + +
a
ft, gn, ln, tn, lf, pn refer to frequencies, genesis events, lysis events,
track densities, lifetimes and intensities.
the track, i.e., during the anomaly’s lifetime, expressed in
the respective field’s units. A quantity referred to as
frequency (ft) is also calculated; it represents the total time
that anticyclonic anomalies are seen over a region and is
expressed as a percentage of the DJF period. For certain
fields the emphasis is placed on the genesis distributions
that when viewed in association with the lysis and intensity
distributions provide information on the location of anticy-
clonic development and on the direction of displacement of
the systems. For other fields the emphasis is on the
frequency distributions and their relation to the frequency
distributions of other fields. Table 3 gives a summary of the
diagnostics presented for each field.
[18] The ft, gn, ln, tn distributions are initially calculated
as probability density functions. They express the probabil-
ity of occurrence at a grid point of an anticyclonic ft, gn, ln
or tn event evaluated over the hemisphere’s surface and the
3 month DJF period. The value at the grid point is a
weighted estimate of the values at surrounding data points,
that lie along anticyclonic tracks. The weights are estimated
by means of a scaling parameter Cn that defines the range of
influence of each data point. Cn is determined objectively
from the mean density of the data by maximizing a cross-
validation function G(Cn). Thus small bull’s-eye structures
in the distribution result from high local data density around
a grid point. The cross validation function ensures that small
structures are only obtained if there is a sufficiently large
number of data points around a grid point to generate a
localized peak in the distribution. As such they are realistic
features, just like the larger scale structures. The probability
values are then normalized with respect to a selected
normalization surface so that the final estimate represents
the number of discrete anticyclonic events that typically
occur during a DJF period within a rectangle surrounding
the grid point, equal in size to the selected normalization
surface. The final ft, gn, ln or tn estimate is directly
proportional to the area of the normalization surface. Here,
the normalization surface is chosen to be 10002 km2 because
the 1000 km side is equal to the smallest scale at which
anticyclones were shown to form [Curry, 1987] and at the
same time is slightly larger than the smallest wavelength
resolved by the ERA-40 data set.
[19] Before applying the tracking procedure, a field that
contains spatial scales larger than the anticyclones under
investigation is removed from the data on the assumption
D08119
that it represents the quasi-steady ‘‘background’’ in which
pn the systems grow. An important requirement is that the
+ ‘‘background’’ field varies on time and spatial scales larger
different regions of the hemisphere to be meaningful
+ climatological value in the Atlantic ocean and therefore
+ represents an anticyclone there but not in the eastern part
of Eurasia where the mean MSLP exceeds 1020 hPa.
[20] In order to remove a ‘‘background’’, the analyzed
fields were spectrally decomposed. In terms of spherical
harmonics a field’s value Y at longitude l, latitude f, and
time t is expressed as:
X X
n¼N m¼þn  m 
Yðl; f; t Þ ¼ Ym
n ðt Þ Pn ðmÞe
iml
ð1Þ
n¼0 m¼n
where the term in brackets is the Legendre polynomial of
degree n, n is the total wave number, m the longitudinal
wave number and Ym n the spectral coefficient. Sensitivity
experiments with different wave numbers showed that a
‘‘background’’ that contains wave harmonics 0  nl  3
satisfies the quasi-steady requirement for the ‘‘background’’
and could be removed without affecting the structures of the
largest anticyclones, like the subtropical high. At the highs
wave number end, the cut-off wave number was specified to
Nc = 21 that corresponds as mentioned earlier, to the
smallest scale (950 km) of a stable anticyclonic vortex
[Curry, 1987].
3. Mean and Variance Fields
[21] An overview is presented of the regions where
anticyclonic activity dominates in winter as identified in
the 45 year DJF mean distributions of MSLP, z 850 and Z250
and in the corresponding variance fields.
[22] The maxima in the mean MSLP field (Figure 2a)
suggest that anticylones in winter are active over the
Atlantic and Pacific subtropical ocean basins, subtropical
northern Africa, and extensive parts of North America and
central Asia. The North African high appears as an inland
extension of the Atlantic subtropical belt. Another branch of
the Atlantic belt passes over central Europe and joins with
the Asian anticyclone. The Asian continental high is con-
siderably stronger than the North American. A connection
between the Asian and North American highs can be seen
over the western Arctic Ocean.
[23] Being a higher derivative field the relative vorticity
z 850 (Figure 2c) highlights smaller scales and is therefore
useful for identifying regions of smaller scale development
within the large anticyclones. A minimum of z 850 noted
(ZAS) in Figure 2c is seen within the Asian anticyclone
extending from 90°E toward northeastern Russia. In the
subtropical belt a strong negative z 850 center is located over
Egypt (ZAF). Elongated minima (ZP, ZA) are found in the
western sectors of the two ocean basins in contrast to the
MSLP where the subtropical oceanic maxima (MP, MA in
Figure 2a) are seen in the eastern sectors. The positioning of
4 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 2. (a, c, e) Average 45 year DJF distributions of the mean fields and (b, d, f) the corresponding
standard deviations after removal of the ‘‘background’’. MSLP in Figures 2a and 2b, 850 hPa relative
vorticity (z 850) in Figures 2c and 2d, 250 hPa geopotential height (Z250) in Figures 2e and 2f. Units are
hPa in Figures 2a, 2b, 105 s1 in Figures 2c, 2d, gpm in Figures 2e, 2f. Letter symbols in Figures 2a and
2c point to features discussed in the text.

5 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
Table 4. Shorthand Notation Following Type (Letter 1) and
Region of Development (Letters 2,3) of the Identified Anticyclones
Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3
C Continental N North America W Western
S Subtropical AF Africa E Eastern
B Blocking AS Asia
P Pacific
A Atlantic
the z 850 minima in the western subtropical ocean basins is
indicative of the strength of the low level trade wind
circulation in these regions and is particularly evident in
the Pacific.
[24] The dominant feature of the 250 hPa geopotential
height field (Figure 2e) are the spiraling patterns, denoted
with the grey curved arrows. The subtropical maxima of the
western Atlantic and Pacific extend eastward across the
ocean basins and then northward toward the British Isles
and the West Coast of North America. From the West Coast,
the Pacific spiral bends north toward the western Arctic where
it attains maximum strength, in the region north of the
Chukchi Peninsula. The Atlantic spiral forms a maximum in
the northeastern Atlantic and then continues east into Scandi-
navia and further into Asia, up to the maximum observed at
50°N, 80°E in central Russia. The end locations of the Z250
spirals, i.e., the northeastern Atlantic, central-western Russia
and the northeastern Pacific including Alaska and the western
Arctic, have been identified as regions of block formation in
numerous studies [Austin, 1980; Lejenas and Okland, 1983;
Dole and Gordon, 1983; Shukla and Mo, 1983; Tibaldi et al.,
1994; LS95; Wiedenmann et al., 2002; PH03; Barriopedro et
al., 2006].
[25] The pronounced oceanic maxima in the standard
deviation distributions of MSLP, z 850 and Z250 (Figures 2b,
2d and 2f) correspond to the Pacific and Atlantic storm
tracks. The regions of blocking of the northeastern Atlantic
and Pacific are also regions of strong variability as they lie
at the eastern end of the storm track variance maxima. In the
MSLP an extension can be seen from the northeastern
Pacific into western North America along the east slopes
of the Rockies while the northeastern Atlantic variance
maximum penetrates eastward into western Eurasia and
from there southwards up to lake Baikal. Branches are also
seen in z 850 and Z250 (Figures 2d and 2f) extending from the
northeast Atlantic eastward indicating that the anticyclonic
activity of western Eurasia is subject to strong variations.
By contrast the anticyclones over northeastern Asia and
central-eastern North America are characterized by weak
variability as these regions are marked by low variance in
all three fields.
[26] In the mean fields (Figures 2a, 2c and 2e) the Arctic
ocean shows up as a region where anticyclonic activity
dominates. The corresponding standard deviations however,
suggest that the character of the development differs be-
tween the low and upper levels. The branches of high
variance of MSLP and z 850 (Figures 2b and 2d) penetrating
from the Atlantic suggest that Arctic anticyclonic develop-
ment is subject to strong variability at low levels. By
contrast, Z250 (Figure 2f) shows a variance minimum
extending from northeastern Asia into the Arctic; together
6 of 17
D08119
with the Arctic maximum in the mean (Figure 2e) this
variance minimum is indicative of a quasi-permanent anti-
cyclonic presence in the upper levels.
4. Tracking Diagnostics
[27] The distribution of anticyclonic activity as revealed
through the tracking diagnostics is presented in the follow-
ing sections. Table 4 presents the notation employed for the
naming of the identified anticyclonic centers. The shorthand
is C, S, B for the anticyclones of the continental, subtropical
and blocking domains respectively. We use red symbols for
the continental, orange for the subtropical and yellow for
the blocking anticyclones. The second letter in the short-
hand notation corresponds to the continent or ocean of the
development as described in Table 4. A third letter, W or E
is used in the case of oceanic anticyclonic development and
represents the western or eastern oceanic sector. When more
than one anticyclonic centers are identified within the same
sector a number is used to distinguish between them. The
number follows the letter symbols.
4.1. Continental Sectors
[28] Winter continental anticyclones tend to be shallow
structures, so the anticyclonic signal is examined here in the
density distributions of MSLP over Eurasia and North
America. Figures 3a and 3b show the genesis and track
distributions of anticyclonic MSLP anomalies over North
America, Figures 3c and 3d the respective distributions over
Eurasia.
[29] The anticyclones of Eurasia and North America are
known for their association with cold, polar air outbreaks in
the northern winter. The cold outbreaks generate extreme
weather conditions that often affect areas as far south as
the East coast of Asia and the East China Sea in Asia and
the southeastern states of the U.S. in North America. The
MSLP genesis and track distributions in Figures 3a and 3b
indicate that the source region for the North American
anticyclones that cause the cold air outbreaks is region
noted as CN1 in western Canada. The anticyclones that
originate in CN1 initially move in a southeastward direc-
tion toward the Canadian prairies. Their trajectories di-
verge there. One group of anticyclones dissipate locally. A
second group of anticyclones acquire a northeastward
direction of propagation and then move into Eastern
Canada and the North Atlantic where they die. A third
group, that consists of the anticyclones that cause the cold
air outbreaks continue in a southeastward direction toward
the southeastern U.S. The track density distribution shows
a corresponding track density maximum in the eastern
U.S., peaking between 35°N and 45°N. Typical values are
8– 10 tracks per DJF season. The dashed line connecting
CN1 to the eastern U.S. track density maximum marks the
trajectories of the anticyclones that cause the cold out-
breaks. Over Texas, a second region of genesis of North
American anticyclones is identified. The anticyclones of
center SN also track toward the east/northeast. In the
corresponding lysis distribution (not shown) the region
of lysis of the SN anticyclones forms a maximum that
covers Louisiana extends from there into the western
subtropical Atlantic.
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 3. Average 45 year DJF distributions of genesis events (a), and of track densities (b), of
anticyclonic anomalies at MSLP over North America. As above in (c) and (d) but for the Eurasian sector.
Units in Figures 3a and 3c represent the mean number of genesis events for the DJF period over a
10002 km2 area. Units in Figures 3b and 3d represent the number of anticyclones’ tracks over a 10002 km2

[30] Over Asia, (Figures 3c and 3d) three genesis centers
are seen, one over Kazakhstan (CAS1), another over eastern
China (CAS2), and a third, bipolar center (CAS3) in north-
eastern Russia extending toward the Chukotka peninsula.
Center CAS3 represents anticyclones that intrude from the
northeast. These anticyclones originate in the Yukon terri-
tory in northwestern Canada, extend into the western Arctic
ocean and from there into northeastern Russia over region
CAS3 [O’Connor, 1961]. CAS1 is another genesis center,
located in northern/central Asia. Asian anticyclones that
cause cold surges and severe weather along the East Asian
coast are initiated in CAS1 and travel eastward/southeast-
ward as indicated by the dashed line. As they approach the
coast they experience a second intensification in region
CAS2. On average there are 9 – 10 anticyclones per season
that track from CAS1 to CAS2. However, CAS1 and CAS2 also
represent centers of genesis of anticyclones that have short
tracks. These anticyclones move eastward and dissipate no
more than 10°– 20° east of their genesis positions.
[31] A tongue of high genesis values is seen in Figure 3a
to extend over northern Greenland. Localized genesis max-
ima are also seen over other high elevation regions like
central/eastern Europe and the Zagros mountains in the
Middle East in Figure 3c. Although the presence of oro-
graphic forcing makes conditions favorable for anticyclo-
genesis the genesis and lysis estimates in these locations are
subject to uncertainties that reflect the assumptions involved
in the reduction of the pressure to MSL. Cross examination
with upper level fields and with fields on levels above the
surface is necessary for a proper evaluation of the realism of
the identified MSLP maxima in the above regions of
substantial topography.
[32] The presence of cold anomalies that could force
surface anticyclogenesis through low level cooling in the

7 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 4. Intensity (a), and frequency (b) distributions of negative 850 hPa temperature anomalies
(T850(n)) over North America. As above in (c) and (d) but for the Eurasian sector. Units in Figures 4a and
4c are degrees K. Units in Figures 4b and 4d represent the amount of time that cold anomalies are
observed over a region expressed as a percentage of the 3 month DJF period. Letter symbols point to
features discussed in the text.

above continental locations is examined in the distributions
of negative temperature anomalies at 850 hPa (T850(n)). The
intensity distributions over North America and Eurasia are
shown in Figures 4a and 4c. The cold anomalies of North
America are centered in its eastern sector, just south of the
Hudson bay. The Eurasian cold anomalies cover a 40° wide
latitude zone. They extend south over regions of eastern
Northern Africa in the west, and regions of Eastern China in
the east. Typical values are of 9 K below the climatological
DJF mean.
[33] Cooling over Eurasia in winter is known to be
strongly influenced by variations related to the Arctic
Oscillation. Depending on the AO phase, these are associ-
ated with increased or diminished advection of warm air
from the North Atlantic that accordingly leads to a reduction
or an increase in the intensity and extent of the Eurasian low
level cooling [Thompson and Wallace, 1998]. In the 45 year
mean, several factors contribute to the maintenance of the
cooling including snow cover that is present in the northern
Eurasian sector, clear sky longwave emission over the
desert zones, and outbreaks of cold air due to cyclonic
and frontal activity. The domain to the east and northeast of
the Caspian Sea in particular, is frequently subjected to
cooling associated with frontal passage as it lies along the
path of the cyclones generated around the Caspian Sea
[Hoskins and Hodges, 2002]. Mongolia and Eastern China,
where maxima in cyclone tracks are observed in the NCEP
reanalysis and ensemble experiments [Takemi and Seino,
2005; Pinto et al., 2007], are also regions where the
cyclonic effect on the temperature field is strong.
[34] In the frequency distributions of negative tempera-
ture anomalies at 850 hPa (Figures 4b and 4d) the major

8 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
frequency maxima are seen over the eastern sectors of the
two continents, over Labrador in North America and north
of Korea in Asia. Smaller frequency maxima can be seen in
Eurasia, positioned over the Caspian Sea, central/eastern
Europe and Egypt. The positions of the MSLP genesis
centers are also noted. The correspondence is generally
good between MSLP and temperature maxima for the North
African and the Eurasian centers and suggests that low level
cooling is contributing significantly to the generation of the
corresponding anticyclones. For the North American anti-
cyclones, the cold pool that dominates the eastern part of the
continent coincides with the track maximum shown earlier
in Figure 3b. However, of the two North American genesis
centers CN1 and SN, SN lies outside the cold pool, and CN1 at
its western edge. This suggests that factors other than low
level cooling are essential at least in the initial stage of
growth of the North American anticyclones.
[35] Examination of the regional factors that favor anti-
cyclonic activity over the identified MSLP centers points to
the presence of more than one favorable factors for each
center. In more detail: The geographical position of the
North African center SAF2 between the Chad Highlands to
the south and the eastern extremity of the Saharan desert to
the north indicates that anticyclonic development there is
favored by the combined effect of orographic uplift of air, as
it goes over the topographic barrier, and of low level cooling
induced by radiative emission from the desert region.
Indeed, center SAF2 is colocated with the North African
temperature maximum (Figure 4d). In central/eastern
Europe where both a MSLP genesis center and a cold
temperature frequency maximum are observed (Figures 3c
and 4d), the presence of the Alps suggests an association of
the cold anomalies with the semi-permanent winter snow
cover of the mountain range. The Asian centers CAS1, CAS2
are situated on small arms that extend westward and
southward of the major Asian temperature frequency max-
imum located north of Korea. Both arms are colocated with
desert zones, the westward arm with the Kyzyi-Kurn desert,
the southward arm with the Gobi desert. Radiative long-
wave emission from the desert areas can provide the cooling
required for the anticyclones’ initiation in CAS1, CAS2. An
additional contribution to anticyclogenetical forcing in CAS1
comes from the upper levels: the maximum that the conti-
nental extension of the Atlantic spiral forms over western-
central Asia at 250 hPa (Figure 2e), reflects the influence of
upper level development on the surface anticyclones at
CAS1.
[36] Upper level forcing is also important for the anti-
cyclones of the North American centers CN1 and SN. As
mentioned earlier, the importance of low level cooling is not
evident for the generation of the anticyclones of CN1 and SN
as these genesis centers lie along the edge of the North
American cold pool. Our analysis of the subtropical and
blocking anticyclones in sections 4.2 and 4.3 indicates that
the growth of anticyclones in CN1 is associated to a large
degree with the development of blocking highs in the
northeastern Pacific while the antiyclones of center SN are
influenced by anticyclonic upper level activity in the west-
ern subtropical Atlantic.
9 of 17
D08119
4.2. Subtropical Sectors
[37] The MSLP genesis distribution is examined again for
signs of anticyclonic activity in the subtropical zone. In
Figure 5a the distribution is shown in the domain that
covers the subtropical Atlantic basin and northern Africa.
In Figure 5b it is shown over the subtropical Pacific. In
addition to the MSLP, the frequency distributions of Z500,
z 250, Z250 and Z100 are examined in the subtropical zone.
4.2.1. Eastern Subtropical Ocean Basins and North
Africa
[38] In the MSLP genesis distributions (Figures 5a and
5b), centers SAE and SPE can be seen in the eastern sectors
of the Atlantic and the Pacific subtropical belts. The
intensity distribution (Figure 5c) shows the highest intensi-
ties in the eastern ocean basins (denoted as sectors AE, PE)
to be located to the west and north of centers SAE and SAE.
Typically, these anticyclones start their life near SAE, SPE,
then perform northward extensions toward regions AE, PE
and eventually track back to SAE, SPE where they die.
[39] Regions AE, PE where the intensity maxima are
observed lie along the path of the spirals that connect the
western subtropical sectors to the blocking regions
(Figure 2e). Similarly, these regions are, along with the
Arctic Ocean, where the MSLP lifetime distribution
(Figure 5d) displays some of the longest lifetimes of the
hemisphere. The lifetime values are of 5.0 (6.0) days for
the Pacific (Atlantic). The strength of the MSLP signal to the
west and north of SAE, SPE, seen in both intensities and
lifetimes is suggestive of coupling in these regions between,
on one hand, the midlatitude anticyclonic developments
along the spirals and blocking domains that lie to the north
of SAE, SPE, and on the other, the subtropical anticyclones of
the eastern ocean basins that develop to the south.
[40] A connection can be seen in the MSLP genesis
distribution (Figures 5a and 5b) between the anticyclones
of the eastern Atlantic and Pacific subtropical basins and
those over the continents of North Africa and western North
America that lie to the east. The genesis center CN2 over
California is situated 5° – 10° to the north and east of the
eastern subtropical Pacific center SPE and connected to it.
Over subtropical northern Africa two strong centers SAF1
and SAF2 are seen connected to the eastern subtropical
Atlantic center SAE.
[41] The connection between centers SPE and CN2 and
their proximity to the Rockies mountain chain is supportive
of views [RH01; Cook, 2003] that attribute the growth of
anticyclones in the eastern subtropical basins in winter to
the effect of the orography of the western continental
regions. For the anticyclones of the North African centers
SAF1 and SAF2 the forcing for their development appears to
be low-level cooling: the most intense of the two, center
SAF2 was seen to be colocated with a maximum in negative
temperature anomalies T850(n) (Figure 4d). The significance
of low level cooling for subtropical anticyclogenesis over
northern Africa is consistent with the results of Miyasaka
and Nakamura [2005] who identify the thermal couplet that
arises from the cooling over a subtropical continent and the
warming of the neighboring ocean in winter, as the forcing
mechanism for subtropical anticyclogenesis.
[42] In the Z250 mean field (Figure 2e) the characteristic
spirals are seen to make a northward bend just west of the
MSLP genesis centers SAE and SPE so that they pass by
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 5. Average 45 year DJF genesis distributions of anticyclonic MSLP anomalies over the
subtropical Atlantic and Northern Africa (a) and over the subtropical Pacific (b). Arrows in Figure 5b
point from the anticyclones’ genesis to their lysis positions. The distributions of the MSLP intensities and
lifetimes are shown in (c) and (d). Units in Figures 5a and 5b as in Figure 3a. Units in Figure 5c are hPa
and in Figure 5d days. Letter symbols point to features discussed in the text.

about 5°– 15° to their north. This implies that anticyclonic
development in the eastern sectors of the subtropical basins
and over northern Africa is not as deep as in the western
sectors. In the latter, the Z250 maxima are seen to be
positioned directly above the maxima at MSLP level which
indicates that anticyclonic development there extends up to
the middle and upper troposphere. The shallowness of the
anticyclonic signal in the eastern subtropical ocean basins
was also observed by GBA08.
4.2.2. Western Subtropical Ocean Basins
[43] In the Pacific MSLP genesis distribution (Figure 5b)
two centers (SPW1, SPW2) are seen in the western/central
sector of the Pacific subtropical belt. The anticyclones that
develop around centers SPW1 and SPW2 display eastward
mobility; as indicated by the arrows their lysis positions lie
5° to 10° east of the genesis positions. Together with the
estimated 2.5– 3.5 days lifetimes (Figure 5d) in the region,
this points to an average speed of anticyclone displacement
of 25 km/hr. In the western subtropical Atlantic sector
(Figure 5a) a diffuse genesis zone is seen with typical
values of 5 – 8 genesis events per DJF season. The zone
represents a continuation of the activity of the North
American center SN (Figure 3a).
[44] The upper level signal is examined in the Z500 and
z 250 frequency distributions shown in Figure 6, and the Z250

10 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 6. (a) Average 45 year DJF genesis distribution of anticyclonic 500 hPa height anomalies (Z500).
Boxes in Figure 6a delineate regions of anticyclonic development in the western subtropical oceanic
sectors. Units represent the mean number of genesis events over the DJF period, over a 10002 km2 area.
(b) Shows the 45 year DJF frequency distribution of anticyclonic anomalies of relative vorticity at
250 hPa (z 250). Arrows on the western Pacific maxima point from the genesis to the lysis positions of the
z 250 anomalies. Units in Figure 6b represent the amount of DJF time that the z 250 anomalies are observed
over a region expressed as a percentage. The spiral patterns are outlined by the long curved arrows.

and Z100 frequency distributions shown in Figure 7. In the
above distributions elongated maxima can be seen over the
western sectors of the Atlantic and Pacific subtropical ocean
basins. The Pacific maxima are considerably stronger than
the Atlantic maxima.
[45] In the z 250 distribution (Figure 6b) the feature that
dominates is a hemispheric band of anticyclonic vorticity.
The band starts over subtropical Northern Africa. Following
the axis of the Arabic-Asian jet [Hoinka, 1999; Conaty et
al., 2001] it passes over the Arabic peninsula and southern
Asia and peaks in the western Pacific between 110°E and
160°E. Intense bands are also seen in the Z250 and Z100
distributions in the western subtropical Pacific (Figures 7a
and 7b). The Z250 and Z100 height bands indicate a tendency
of the strongest activity to be located further west with
height; the Z100 band extends over Western India while the
Z250 band extends only to the East Asian coast. In their
study, GBA08 identify a westward displacement of the
signal with height in the region of the western Pacific
between the 500 hPa and 250 hPa levels.
[46] Generation and decay of anticyclonic vorticity
anomalies occur at several locations along the axis of the
Arabic-Asian jet. However, these maximize in the western
Pacific sector, where peaking of the z 250 frequencies is
observed. The peaking of z 250 between 110°E and 160°E
can be attributed to this being the longitude band where
convective heating is located for the largest part of the
winter period in the equatorial Pacific as it lies in the
middle of the two extreme phases of the Madden-Julian
Oscillation [Matthews and Kiladis, 1999; Barlow et al.,
2005]. Modeling work [Kiladis and Weickmann, 1997;
Schumacher et al., 2004] has shown that enhancement of
convection at a particular longitude in the tropics intensi-
fies the Hadley circulation and hence the upper level
descent and the anticyclonic vorticity at the same longi-
tude in the subtropics. The presence of a strong band of
positive temperature anomalies at 250 hPa (Figure 7c) in
the southeastern Asia/western subtropical Pacific region is
consistent with enhanced adiabatic heating that results
from intensified descent in the Hadley cell. The sharp
transition reported to have been observed in the south-
eastern Asia/western subtropical Pacific region [Newell et
al., 1974; Read et al., 1995] from high humidity in the sector
south of, to low humidity in the sector north of the subtrop-
ical jet implies more efficient warming of the descending
subtropical air due to its low humidity.
[47] The anomalies that form the z 250 maxima (SPZ1,
SPZ2) in the western subtropical Pacific have small but
measurable eastward mobility, as indicated by the eastward
pointing arrows in Figure 6b. Their lysis regions lie 10°
downstream of the genesis regions. Their lifetimes (not
shown) lie in the 2 –4 days range. The Z500 lifetimes are

11 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
Figure 7. Average 45 year DJF genesis distributions
of positive height anomalies at 250 hPa (Z250) in (a), at
100 hPa (Z100) in (b), and of positive temperature ano-
malies at 250 hPa (T250(p)) in (c). Units as in Figure 6a.
12 of 17
D08119
also small in the subtropical western Pacific despite the
elongated frequency maximum in the region (Figure 6a).
The above properties point to the presence of small spatial
and temporal scales within the large anticyclonic develop-
ment and stand in contrast with the traditional perception
that views subtropical anticyclones as relatively uniform
large-scale structures. An association is likely of the ob-
served small scale variability with the northerly surges of
the Asian monsoon [Ding and Xiao, 1992; Wu and Chan,
1997] that are often observed in the western Pacific region.
Timescales of northerly surges usually lie in the 10– 20 days
range but timescales as small as 5 days, comparable to our
observed lifetimes, have also been reported [Chang, 2004].
4.3. Blocking Sectors
[48] The yellow boxes in Figure 8a delineate the sectors
of the northeastern Atlantic and Pacific and of central Asia
where blocking activity is known to occur. We examine in
the above regions distributions of Z500 (Figure 8) and pv250
(Figure 9) and of temperature anomalies at different levels
(Figure 10). The stratospheric characteristics of the anti-
cyclones that grow in the blocking domains are examined in
the distributions of height anomalies at 50 hPa, Z 50
(Figure 11).
[49] The eastward pointing arrows on the genesis maxima
seen in the blocking regions in Figure 8a suggest that the
anomalies that form the blocking anticyclones are mobile.
As before the beginning and end of each arrow joins the
genesis to the corresponding lysis position. It can be seen
that in the northeastern Atlantic Z500 anomalies denoted by
BA move by about 30° from their genesis positions in the
central Atlantic to their lysis positions over the British Isles.
Likewise, the anomalies that form the maximum of the West
Coast of North America BP, appear over the ocean and
decay over western North America 10° – 15° to the east of
their location of appearance.
[50] The lifetimes of the Z500 anomalies in the blocking
regions are 5 – 6 days. These values are at the low end of the
lifetime range for blocking anticyclones estimated by LS95
but exceed the 4.0– 4.5 days that according to PH03 mark
the transition from transient anticyclones to anticyclones
that have the blocking characteristic of a high probability of
long persistence. Our observed lifetimes of 5 – 6 days point
in the same direction as the cycles of reintensification of
blocks of long duration reported by McWilliams [1980] and
Lupo [1997]. They suggest that the long duration blocks
actually consist of a number of short-lived anticyclones of
typical lifetimes of 5– 6 days that move in sequence into the
blocking domain.
[51] The applicability of PV to the study of blocking
anticyclones was extensively dwelt upon by Illari [1984],
Nakamura et al. [1997], Lupo and Bosart [1999], Colucci
[2001], Schwierz et al. [2004], Burkhardt and Lupo [2005]
who constructed PV-related indices of blocking and argued
on the significance of PV advection into the blocking
domain. Maxima in the blocking regions are seen in the
pv250 genesis distribution (Figure 9a) and like the Z500
maxima they possess eastward mobility. An additional
feature in pv250 are the northwestward extensions of the
Atlantic and Pacific maxima toward Greenland and the
Bering Sea, respectively. In view of the reported tendency
of blocks for retrogression in their mature phase of devel-
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 8. Average 45 year DJF genesis distribution of frequencies (a) and lifetimes (b) of anticyclonic
500 hPa height anomalies (Z500). Boxes in Figure 8a delineate the sectors of development of blocking
highs. The arrows on the frequency maxima point from genesis to lysis positions of the Z500 anomalies.
Units represent percentage of time of the DJF period in Figure 8a and days in Figure 8b.

opment [Bell and Bosart, 1989; Lupo, 1997] the Greenland
and Bering extensions represent secondary reintensification
of retrograding blocks rather than primary growth. The
intensity maxima in the pv 250 intensity distribution
(Figure 9c) are centered over Bering and Greenland sug-
gesting that it is in the retrogression stage that blocking
anticyclones attain maximum strength.
[52] The spiral connections seen in Z250 and Z500 between
the regions of blocking and the anticyclones in the western
subtropical ocean basins are only partly identifiable in the
pv250 distributions. As PV tends to 0 near the equator the
subtropical arm of the spiral disappears and only the high
latitude arm remains, with the maxima observed in the
regions of blocking. In this respect the pv250 distribution
displays complementary characteristics to the z 250 distribu-
tion (Figure 6b): in the latter the spiral patterns are clearly
evident, however, the high latitude arm of the spiral is weak
relative to the subtropical, especially the western Pacific
subtropical arm. The differences in the spiral structure
between the two fields reflect the different dynamics of
anticyclonic development in subtropical and blocking
regions. While the predominant contribution to anticyclo-
genesis in the western subtropical basins is the vorticity
associated with the upper level jet, the anticyclogenesis in
the blocking regions has strong thermal forcing that impacts
on the static stability of the generated anticyclones and
manifests itself in the pv250 maxima centered over the
regions of blocking. We note that although the cyclonic
distribution [Hoskins and Hodges, 2002, 2005] is also
characterized by spiraling patterns, anticyclones do not
travel all the way along the identified spirals as cyclones
do, but only over the limited distance denoted by the arrows
on the Z500 maxima in Figure 8a.
[53] Frequency distributions of positive temperature
anomalies at 850, 400, and 250 hPa (T850(p)), (T400(p)),
(T250(p)) are shown in Figures 10a, 10b and 10c. The
presence of warm anomalies over the blocking domains is
evident in all three fields. Their trajectories are indicated by
the arrows that connect the genesis and the lysis locations of
the warm anomalies at each level. Note, that the paths of the
warm anomalies are different from the paths of the anti-
cyclones of the blocking regions; the latter are shown by the
arrows on the PV maxima in Figure 9a.
[54] The end points of the arrows in Figure 10 show that
the paths of the North Atlantic warm anomalies at all levels
end over Scandinavia. However, the 250 hPa anomalies
originate over Labrador while those at 400 hPa and 850 hPa
originate in the oceanic sector of the central North Atlantic.
The oceanic origin of the 850 and 400 hPa anomalies
suggests an association with the cyclones that travel across
the North Atlantic and, the related to cyclones, convective
activity. Similarly to the Atlantic, the origin of the 850 hPa
and 400 hPa warm anomalies that form the temperature
maxima of the northeastern Pacific is oceanic, closely
associated to the Pacific cyclones; the Gulf of Alaska and
the Canadian Pacific coast where the activity of the 850 and
400 hPa warm anomalies is centered are well known regions
of cyclolysis. By contrast, the warm anomalies that form the
Alaskan maximum at 250 hPa (Figure 10c) have in their
majority, a high latitude, continental origin. They are

13 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 10. Average 45 year DJF frequency distributions

Figure 9. Average 45 year DJF distributions of genesis
of positive temperature anomalies at 850 hPa (T850(p)) in (a),
(a), lysis (b) events, and of intensities (c) of negative
at 400 hPa (T400(p)) in (b), and at 250 hPa (T250(p)) in (c).
anomalies of potential vorticity at 250 hPa (pv250). Arrows
Arrows on the frequency maxima point from genesis to the
in Figure 9a point from genesis to the corresponding lysis
corresponding lysis locations. Units as in Figure 8a.
positions. Units in Figures 9a and 9b represent the mean
number of events over the DJF period over a 10002 km2
area, and in Figure 9c PV units.

14 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES D08119

Figure 11. Average 45 year DJF distributions of frequencies (a) and lifetimes (b) of positive height
anomalies at 50 hPa (Z50). Units represent percentage of DJF time in Figure 11a and days in Figure 11b.
Arrows point from genesis to corresponding lysis positions for each frequency maximum. The small
length of the arrows suggests limited displacements.

generated over the Canadian archipelago and approach
Alaska and the northeastern Pacific sector from the east as
marked by the dashed arrow.
[55] The above remark indicates that the northeastern
Atlantic and northeastern Pacific are locations of conver-
gence of upper level and of middle-low level warm anoma-
lies that originate in widely different regions. This can
partly explain the geographical preference of blocking for
the northeastern Atlantic and northeastern Pacific as the
identified convergence makes conditions favorable there for
the maintenance of the deep, warm-core block structure
[Edmon, 1980; Illari, 1984; Tracton, 1990; Tsou and Smith,
1990] over prolonged periods.
[56] Last, the signal of anticyclonic development over the
blocking regions is examined in the lower stratosphere.
Figures 11a and 11b show the frequency and lifetime
distributions of positive height anomalies at 50 hPa. In the
frequency distribution a maximum is seen over Alaska and a
second maximum over the British Isles. A branch extending
from the British Isles maximum eastward leads to a weaker
maximum centered over central Asia in the frequency
distribution.
[57] The lifetimes of the anomalies that correspond to the
British Isles maximum are equal to 6 days while those of
the Alaskan equal to 13 days. With respect to their mobility,
the anticyclones of the British Isles maximum are seen on
occasions to migrate eastward and merge with the Alaskan
maximum. However, typically the anomalies that form the
stratospheric maxima are quasi-stationary; their small dis-
placements, indicated by the limited length of the arrows in
Figure 11a, contrast with the earlier identified 10°– 30°
displacements of the anticyclones of the tropospheric max-
ima in the blocking regions.
[58] A link has been established between tropospheric
blocking and stratospheric sudden warmings [Labitzke,
1965; Labitzke and Van Loon, 1965; Quiroz, 1986; Yoden
et al., 1999; Taguchi, 2003; Nishii and Nakamura, 2004;
Manney et al., 2005; Allen et al., 2006] through a process
that involves excitation of upward propagating planetary
waves by the blocking activity and their breaking at a
critical stratospheric level. The identified quasi-stationary
character of the stratospheric maxima and their positioning
above the tropospheric frequency maxima in the blocking
regions are consistent features with the concept of standing
planetary waves radiating upwards. Further, the frequency
values of 30% of the stratospheric maxima suggest that
excitation of waves that penetrate as high up as the lower
stratosphere frequently accompanies blocking events and is
observed for about 30% of the time of the DJF period.
[59] However, the different lifetimes of the Alaskan and
the British centers at 50 hPa point to differences in the
dynamical influences that the two centers are subject to. The
13 days lifetimes of the Alaskan maximum point to a
predominantly stratospheric influence. In view of the pres-
ence of the Aleutian High in the middle/upper stratospheric
levels [Harvey et al., 2002] over the northeastern Pacific,
13 days are likely to reflect timescales of vaccilations within
the Aleutian High. The lifetimes of 6 days of the British
Isles center are similar to the lifetimes of the corresponding
tropospheric anticyclonic anomalies and suggest a predom-

15 of 17
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
inance of tropospheric processes on the anticyclonic anoma-
lies at 50 hPa of the northeastern Atlantic.
5. Conclusions
[60] A comprehensive climatology of the Northern hemi-
sphere anticyclonic activity during the winter season is
presented. The climatology is based on statistical diagnostics
obtained by tracking anticyclones’ centers in the 45-year
ERA-40 data covering the period of 1957– 2002. Estimates
of density distributions, characteristic properties and struc-
tural features of the different types of anticyclones including
anticyclones of the continental, subtropical and blocking
domains were generated and discussed. The main results
are summarized below.
[61] A number of centers around which anticyclonic
activity clusters was identified over the Eurasian and North
American continents. The corresponding anticyclones are
shallow structures mostly associated with low level pools of
cold air. Their direction of displacement is typically toward
the east/southeast. The distance of displacement ranges
widely with some anticyclones developing locally and
dissipating 10– 20° downstream and others reaching the
eastern coasts of the continents and causing cold air out-
breaks and the associated severe weather spells in the
southeastern regions of China and U.S. The correspondence
with surface pools of cold air is evident for the Eurasian
anticyclones while the North American anticyclones are
subject to the combined influence of low level cold pools
and upper level forcing associated with the anticyclones
developing in the neighboring oceanic regions of the
northeastern Pacific and the western subtropical Atlantic.
[62] In the subtropics, centers of development are ob-
served in the western and eastern sectors of the ocean basins
and also over northern Africa. The anticyclones in the
eastern sectors of the subtropical ocean basins are shallow
unlike those in the western sectors. In addition, a connection
is identified between the anticyclones of the eastern basins
and those of the neighboring continental regions of North
Africa and North America. The connection is supportive of
the studies that emphasize the importance of continents and
of the orographic barriers in the western continental
domains [Cook, 2003; RH01] for the formation of the
winter subtropical anticyclones. In our results the effect of
orography appears to be relevant to anticyclonic develop-
ment in the eastern subtropical Pacific/western North Amer-
ica region that lies in the vicinity of the Rockies. For the
subtropical anticyclones of northern Africa the primary
forcing appears to be low level cooling as they are accom-
panied by the presence of cold anomalies at low levels.
[63] Anticyclonic activity is present in the upper tropo-
spheric levels in the western sectors of the subtropical ocean
basins. The upper level signal is considerably stronger in the
western subtropical Pacific than in the western subtropical
Atlantic. The difference between the two oceans is most
evident in the vorticity where a hemispheric band is seen to
extend from North Africa eastward following the Asian jet
axis and peaking in the western subtropical Pacific in the
sector north of the Indonesian warm pool. The intensity of
the signal in the western subtropical Pacific is consistent
with analytical predictions that point to an intensification of
the Hadley circulation, and consequently of the upper level
16 of 17
D08119
anticyclonic vorticity and of adiabatic warming of the
descending air in the subtropical zone, in response to
enhanced convective heating at tropical latitudes in the
Indonesian sector. The absence of an equally strong signal
in the upper levels in the western subtropical Atlantic
suggests that upper level anticyclonic activity in the sub-
tropical zone depends strongly on the zonal distribution of
convective activity along the equator.
[64] The anticyclones in the regions of blocking of the
northeastern Atlantic and Pacific were found to be structures
that appear over the ocean and decay over the continental
coasts following a 10°– 30° downstream displacement.
Their lifetimes of 5 – 6 days are at the low end of the
lifetime range of blocking anticyclones identified in earlier
studies. In light of their relatively short lifetimes and their
mobility, a view of blocking as consisting of a number of
short-lived anticyclones of the above type that move in
sequence into the blocking domain, appears more accurate
than the traditional perception of a block as a single, long-
lived anticyclonic event.
[65] The northeastern Atlantic and Pacific were shown to
be regions where upper level warm air anomalies originat-
ing over eastern North America converge with middle/low
level warm anomalies that originate along the Pacific and
Atlantic storm tracks. The convergence creates favorable
conditions for the maintenance of the deep warm core that is
characteristic of blocks and may partly explain the geo-
graphical preference of blocking for the regions of the
northeastern Atlantic and Pacific. It is likely that vertical
coupling between the warm anomalies that originate in
different regions is vital for blocking and that the timing
and intensity of the coupling are key factors for the onset
and persistence of a blocking episode.
[66] Finally, a strong anticyclonic signal is identified in
the lower stratospheric levels over the northeastern Atlantic
and Pacific. The stratospheric anomalies are positioned
above the respective tropospheric anomalies and their
characteristics are indicative of standing waves, consistent
with theoretical views that suggest excitation of upward
propagating planetary waves by the blocking process. A
difference in timescales is identified between the Pacific and
the Atlantic lower stratospheric height anomalies; this
points to a predominance of the stratospheric (tropospheric)
influence on the lower stratospheric signal of blocking in
the Pacific (Atlantic).
[67] Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank Kevin Hodges for
his TRACK code. The research was supported by the Natural Science and
Engineering Research Council of Canada.
References
Allen, D. R., L. Coy, S. D. Eckermann, J. P. McCormack, G. L. Manney,
T. F. Hogan, and Y.-J. Kim (2006), NOGAPS-ALPHA simulations of the
2002 southern hemisphere stratospheric major warming, Mon. Weather
Rev., 134, 468 – 518.
Austin, J. F. (1980), The blocking of mid-latitude westerly wind by plane-
tary waves, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 106, 327 – 350.
Barlow, M., M. Wheeler, L. Bradfield, and H. Cullen (2005), Modulation of
daily precipitation over southwest Asia by the Madden-Julian Oscillation,
Mon. Weather Rev., 133, 3579 – 3594.
Barriopedro, D., R. Garcia-Herrera, A. R. Lupo, and E. Hernanndez (2006),
A climatology of northern hemisphere blocking, Clim. J., 19, 1042 –
1063.
Bell, G. D., and L. F. Bosart (1989), A 15 year climatology of northern
hemisphere 500 mb closed cyclone and anticyclone centers, Mon. Weather
Rev., 117, 2142 – 2164.
D08119 IOANNIDOU AND YAU: CLIMATOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ANTICYCLONES
Burkhardt, J. P., and A. R. Lupo (2005), The planetary- and synoptic-scale
interactions in a southeast Pacific blocking episode using PV diagnostics,
J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 1901 – 1916.
Chang, C.-P. (2004), The East Asian monsoon, vol. 2, World Scientific Series
on Meteorology of East Asia ed., 564 pp., World Scientific Publishing.
Colucci, S. J. (2001), Planetary-scale preconditioning for the onset of
blocking, J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 933 – 942.
Conaty, A. L., J. C. Jusem, L. Takacs, D. Keyser, and R. Atlas (2001), The
structure and evolution of extratropical cyclones, fronts, jet streams, and
the tropopause in the GEOS general circulation model, Bull. Am. Meteorol.
Soc., 82, 1853 – 1867.
Cook, K. H. (2003), Role of continents in driving the hadley cells, J. Atmos.
Sci., 60, 957 – 976.
Curry, J. (1987), The contribution of radiative cooling to the formation of
cold-core anticyclones, J. Atmos. Sci., 44, 2575 – 2592.
Ding, Y., and M. Xiao (1992), A case study of development and structure of
a cold surge in East Asia, presented in the Second Int. Conf. on East Asia
and West Pacific Meteorology and Climate, pp. 311 – 328, Hong Kong
Meteor. Soc., Hong Kong.
Dole, R. M., and N. D. Gordon (1983), Persistent anomalies of the extra-
tropical northern hemisphere wintertime circulation: Geographical distri-
bution and regional persistence characteristics, Mon. Weather Rev., 111,
1567 – 1586.
Edmon, H. J. J. (1980), A study of the general circulation over the northern
hemisphere during the winters of 1976 – 77 and 1977 – 78, Mon. Weather
Rev., 108, 1538 – 1553.
Galarneau, T. J. J., L. F. Bosart, and A. R. Aiyyer (2008), Closed
anticyclones of the subtropics and midlatitudes: A 54-year climatology
and three case studies., Sanders Symposium Monograph, Meteor. Monogr.
No. 55, Amer., Meteor., Soc., in press.
Harman, J. R. (1987), Mean monthly North American anticyclone frequen-
cies, Mon. Weather Rev., 115, 2840 – 2848.
Harvey, V. L., R. B. Pierce, T. D. Fairlie, and M. H. Hitchman (2002), A
climatology of stratospheric polar vortices and anticyclones, J. Geophys.
Res., 107(D20), 4442, doi:10.1029/2001JD001471.
Hodges, K. I. (1994), A general method for tracking analysis and its ap-
plication to meteorological data, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 2573 – 2586.
Hodges, K. I. (1995), Feature tracking on the unit sphere, Mon. Weather
Rev., 123, 3458 – 3465.
Hodges, K. I. (1999), Adaptive constraints for feature tracking, Mon.
Weather Rev., 127, 1362 – 1373.
Hoinka, K. P. (1999), Temperature, humidity, and wind at the global tro-
popause, Mon. Weather Rev., 127, 2248 – 2265.
Hoskins, B. J., and K. I. Hodges (2002), New perspectives on the northern
hemisphere winter storm tracks, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1041 – 1061.
Hoskins, B. J., and K. I. Hodges (2005), A new perspective on southern
hemisphere storm tracks, J. Clim., 18, 4108 – 4129.
Illari, L. (1984), A diagnostic study of the potential vorticity in a warm
blocking anticyclone, J. Atmos. Sci., 41, 3518 – 3526.
Keegan, T. J. (1958), Arctic synoptic activity in Winter, J. Meteorol., 15,
513 – 521.
Kiladis, G. N., and K. M. Weickmann (1997), Horizontal structure and
seasonality of large-scale circulations associated with submonthly tropi-
cal convection, Mon. Weather Rev., 125, 1997 – 2013.
Labitzke, K. (1965), On the mutual relation between stratosphere and tropo-
sphere during periods of stratospheric warmings in winter, J. Appl. Me-
teorol., 4, 91 – 99.
Labitzke, K., and H. Van Loon (1965), A note on stratospheric midwinter
warmings in the southern hemisphere, J. Appl. Meteorol., 4, 292 – 295.
Lejenas, H., and H. Okland (1983), Characteristics of northern hemisphere
blocking as determined from a long time series of observational data,
Tellus, Ser. A and Ser. B, 35A, 350 – 362.
Lupo, A. R. (1997), A diagnosis of two blocking events that occurred
simultaneously in the midlatitude northern hemisphere, Mon. Weather
Rev., 125, 1801 – 1823.
Lupo, A. R., and L. F. Bosart (1999), An analysis of a relatively rare case of
continmental blocking, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 125, 107 – 138.
Lupo, A. R., and P. J. Smith (1995), Climatological features of blocking
anticyclones in the northern hemisphere, Tellus, Ser. A and Ser. B, 47A,
439 – 456.
Manney, G. L., et al. (2005), Diagnostic comparison of meteorological
analyses during the 2002 Antarctic winter, Mon. Weather Rev., 133,
1261 – 1278.
Matthews, A. J., and G. N. Kiladis (1999), The tropical-extratropical inter-
action between high-frequency transients and the Madden-Julian oscilla-
tion, Mon. Weather Rev., 127, 661 – 677.
McWilliams, J. C. (1980), An application of equivalent modons to atmo-
spheric blocking, Dyna. Atmos. Oceans, 5, 43 – 66.
17 of 17
D08119
Miyasaka, T., and H. Nakamura (2005), Structure and formation mechan-
isms of the northern hemisphere summertime subtropical highs, J. Clim.,
18, 5046 – 5065.
Nakamura, H., M. Nakamura, and J. L. Anderson (1997), The role of high
and low rrequency dynamics in blocking formation, Mon. Weather Rev.,
125, 2074 – 2093.
Newell, R. E., G. W. Kidson, D. G. Vincent, and G. J. Boer (Eds.) (1974),
The general circulation of the tropical atmosphere and interactions with
extratropical latitudes, vol. II, 370 pp., The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Nishii, K., and H. Nakamura (2004), Lower-stratospheric Rossby wave
trains in the southern hemisphere: A case study for late winter of 1997,
Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 130, 325 – 345.
O’Connor, J. (1961), Mean Circulation patterns based on 12 Years of
Recent Northern Hemispheric Data, Mon. Weather Rev., 89, 211 – 227.
Parker, S. S., J. T. Hawes, S. J. Colucci, and B. P. Hayden (1989), Clima-
tology of 500 mb cyclones and anticyclones 1950 – 85, Mon. Weather
Rev., 117, 558 – 570.
Pelly, J. L., and B. J. Hoskins (2003), A new perspective on blocking,
J. Atmos. Sci., 60, 743 – 755.
Pinto, J. G., U. Ulbrich, G. C. Leckebusch, T. Spangehl, M. Reyers, and
S. Zacharias (2007), Changes in storm track and cyclone activity in three
SRES ensemble experiments with the ECHAM5/MPI-OMI GCM, Clim.
Dyn., 29, 195 – 210.
Quiroz, R. S. (1986), The association of stratospheric warmings with tropo-
spheric blocking, J. Geophys. Res., 91, 5277 – 5285.
Read, W. G., J. W. Waters, D. A. Flower, L. Froidevaux, R. Jarnot,
D. Hartmann, R. Harwood, and R. Rood (1995), Upper-tropospheric
water vapor from UARS MLS, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 76, 2381 – 2389.
Rodwell, M. J., and B. J. Hoskins (2001), Subtropical anticyclones and
summer monsoons, Clim. J., 14, 3192 – 3211.
Schumacher, C., R. A. J. Houze, and I. Kraucunas (2004), The tropical
dynamical response to latent heating estimates derived from the TRMM
precipitation radar., J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 1341 – 1358.
Schwierz, C., M. Croci-Maspoli, and H. C. Davies (2004), Perspicacious
indicators of atmospheric blocking, Geol. Res. Lett., 31, 1 – 4.
Serreze, M. C., and R. G. Barry (1988), Synoptic activity in the Arctic
basin, Clim. J., 1, 1276 – 1295.
Shukla, J., and K. C. Mo (1983), Seasonal and geographical variation of
blocking, Mon. Weather Rev., 111, 388 – 402.
Taguchi, M. (2003), Tropospheric response to stratospheric sudden warm-
ings in a simple global circulation model, J. Clim., 16, 3039 – 3049.
Takemi, T., and N. Seino (2005), Dust storms and cyclone tracks over the
arid regions in east Asia in spring, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D18S11,
doi:10.1029/2004JD004698.
Tan, Y.-C., and J. A. Curry (1993), A diagnostic study of the evolution of an
intense North American anticyclone during winter 1989, Mon. Weather
Rev., 121, 961 – 975.
Thompson, D. W. J., and J. M. Wallace (1998), The Arctic oscillation
signature in wintertime geopotential height and temperature fields, Geo-
phys. Res. Lett., 25, 1297 – 1300.
Tibaldi, S., E. Tosi, A. Navarra, and L. Pedulli (1994), Northern and south-
ern hemisphere seasonal variability of blocking frequency and predict-
ability, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 1971 – 2003.
Tracton, M. S. (1990), Predictability and its relationship to scale interaction
processes in blocking, Mon. Weather Rev., 118, 1666 – 1695.
Tsou, C.-H., and P. J. Smith (1990), The role of synoptic/planetary scale
interactions during the development of a blocking anticyclone, Tellus,
Ser. A and Ser. B, 42A, 174 – 193.
Wexler, H. (1951), Anticyclones, in Compendium of Meteorology, edited by
T. F. Malone, pp. 621 – 629, Amer. Meteor. Soc.
Wiedenmann, J. M., A. R. Lupo, I. I. Mokhov, and E. A. Tikhonova (2002),
The climatology of blocking anticyclones for the northern and southern
hemispheres: Block intensity as a diagnostic, J. Clim., 15, 3459 – 3473.
Wu, M. C., and J. C. L. Chan (1997), Upper-level features associated with
winter monsoon surges over South China, Mon. Weather Rev., 125, 317 –
340.
Yoden, S., T. Yamaga, S. Pawson, and U. Langematz (1999), A composite
analysis of the stratospheric sudden warmings simulated in a perpetual
January integration of the Berlin TSM GCM, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn., 77,
431 – 445.
Zishka, K. M., and P. J. Smith (1980), The climatology of cyclones and
anticyclones over North America and surrounding ocean environs for
January and July 1950 – 77, Mon. Weather Rev., 108, 387 – 401.

L. Ioannidou and M. K. Yau, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Sciences, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC,
Canada H3A 2K6. (lily@zephyr.meteo.mcgill.ca; peter.yau@mcgill.ca)