Paper 1 



established over Europe throughout the summer. The pattern 

 retrograded in October^ with well-developed meridional flo« 

 continuing through November. The pattern reverted to more zonal 

 flow conditions by the end of the year. 



Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show anomalies/ or departures/' of the 700 mb 

 surface frotr a 30-yr (1941-70) mean height. The annual and 

 quarterly anomalies can be compared to those for 1974 and 1975 

 (Goulet and Haynes 1978). In general/ sea surface temperatures 

 tend to be warmer than normal/ ano seas calmer/ under areas of 

 positive height anomaly/ whereas cooler and stormier conditions 

 prevail under areas of negative height anomaly. These 

 interactions in 1976 are more fully discussed by Dickson and 

 Namias in Paper 2 . 



January - The high and low pressure centers over the North 

 Atlantic were slightly closer together and more intense than 

 average/ bringing record high winds and severe storms to western 

 Europe. Positive pressure anomalies extended over the ocean from 



2 3N to 6':;n. 



In the N'orth Pacific the pressure distributions were near normal 

 in position tut more intense than usual/ and storm tracks tended 

 to be about 5 degrees north of their average locations. 



Fast mid-latitude westerlies and a three-lobed wave pattern with 

 broad troughs characterized the 7G0 mb circulation/ with a strong 

 ridge alono the U.S. west coast which deflected storms northward 

 to Canada and Alaska- 



february - There were more storms than usual in the North 

 Atlantic/ and their tracks were far north of normal (the majority 

 of the storms crossed the coast north of Nova Scotia). Surface 

 pressure was normal in outline/ but more intense. There was a 

 +14 mb closed high anomaly over western Russia/ and a -17 mb 

 anomaly trougfi paralleling the west coast of Greenland. 



Pressure was above normal over all of the Pacific north of 25N/ 

 with a +75 m height anomaly at the 700 mb level (+9 mb at the 

 surface) in the center of this area. 



The 700 mb wave cattern smoothed this month/ with very strong 

 westerly winds a few degrees north of normal. These brought near 

 record high temperatures over all of the United States except the 

 northwest corner. 



!l!!a££t ~ The overall pressure pattern on the North Atlantic was 

 near normal but more intense than usual with a -18 mb anomaly 

 near Iceland and a +11 mb anomaly from 15N to 5CN on the central 

 ocean. 



12 



