An Intraseasonal Dipole Mode in Summertime Surface Air Temperature over Eurasia and Its Association with Heat Wave Occurrence

A strong coherence of the summer (June-August) surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies exists over eastern Eurasia (EE) and central Eurasia (CE) in association with a remarkable intraseasonal (10-90-day) variability. The intraseasonal SAT over Eurasia shows a negative correlation between EE and CE, which is closely related to an intraseasonal wave train at the upper troposphere over the mid-high latitudes of Eurasia. The wave train propagates eastward and results in the intraseasonal variation of SAT in a seesaw pattern. The column-integrated temperature budget suggests that both the horizontal and vertical advection are important for the intraseasonal SAT dipole. More specifically, the climatological westerly, intraseasonal meridional wind anomaly, and the anomalous vertical motion play dominant roles in perturbing temperature over the CE and EE regions, while the diabatic heating is a negative feedback. The propagation of the Rossby wave train in the upper troposphere helps to maintain the circulation anomalies associated with the SAT seesaw. The leading modes of meridional wind anomalies at 200 hPa over the Eurasian high latitudes resemble the intraseasonal wave train, indicating that the wave train associated with the SAT seesaw is an atmospheric intrinsic mode over the mid-high latitudes. This study also investigates the impact of the intraseasonal SAT seesaw on regional heat wave events. It is suggested that the intraseasonal SAT seesaw has a major influence on the variability of heat wave events over both EE and CE, which may provide great implications for regional subseasonal forecasts of extreme weather events.

Automated summary

A strong coherence of the summer surface air temperature anomalies exists over eastern Eurasia and central Eurasia, which is closely related to a remarkable intraseasonal variability. The intraseasonal temperature variation is influenced by the upper tropospheric wave train and is characterized by a seesaw pattern between eastern Eurasia and central Eurasia. The horizontal and vertical advection, as well as the anomalous vertical motion and diabatic heating, play important roles in perturbing the temperature anomalies. The propagation of the Rossby wave train helps to maintain the circulation anomalies associated with the temperature seesaw.