An Objectively Determined Blocking Index and its Northern Hemisphere Climatology

Abstract A modified blocking index is defined based on vertically integrated potential vorticity. The application of this index identifies blocking activity over the Northern Hemisphere during all seasons. The index is developed by systematically identifying the magnitude and spatial scale that best characterizes persistent anticyclonic circulation anomalies in different seasons. By applying a systematic approach to the detection of blocking, the interannual, seasonal, and intraseasonal patterns of blocking frequency across the Northern Hemisphere are able to be characterized. The results are consistent with previous studies in finding that blocking is more frequent in the cold season months than in the warm season, although the results suggest that blocking occurs much more frequently in the summer and fall than many studies have previously reported. By examining blocking frequency monthly, interesting patterns of intraseasonal variability are found, especially over the central Pacific in August and the eastern Pacific in September and October, where blocking is nearly as frequent as in the winter. Possible explanations for this intraseasonal variability are discussed.