Antarctic snowfall consists of frequent clear‐sky precipitation and heavier falls from intrusions of maritime airmasses associated with amplified planetary waves. We investigate the importance of different precipitation events using the output of the RACMO2 model. Extreme precipitation events consisting of the largest 10% of daily totals are shown to contribute more than 40% of the total annual precipitation across much of the continent, with some areas receiving in excess of 60% of the total from these events. The greatest contribution of extreme precipitation events to the annual total is in the coastal areas and especially on the ice shelves, with the Amery Ice Shelf receiving 50% of its annual precipitation in less than the 10 days of heaviest precipitation. For the continent as a whole, 70% of the variance of the annual precipitation is explained by variability in precipitation from extreme precipitation events, with this figure rising to over 90% in some areas.

Variability and change in near‐surface air temperature at 17 Antarctic stations is examined using data from the SCAR READER database. We consider the relationships between temperature, and atmospheric circulation, sea ice concentration and forcing by the tropical oceans. All 17 stations have their largest inter‐annual temperature variability during the winter and the annual mean temperature anomalies are dominated by winter temperatures. The large inter‐annual temperature variability on the western Antarctic Peninsula has decreased over the instrumental period as sea ice has declined. Variability in the phase of the SAM exerts the greatest control of temperatures, although tropical Pacific forcing has also played a large part, along with local atmospheric circulation variability at some locations. The relationship of positive (negative) SAM and high (low) Peninsula and low (high) East Antarctic temperatures was not present before the mid‐1970s. Thirteen of the 17 stations have experienced a positive trend in their annual mean temperature over the full length of their record, with the largest being at Vernadsky (formerly Faraday) (0.46° ± 0.15°C·dec⁻¹) on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The deepening of the Amundsen Sea low as a result of the more positive SAM and changes in the IPO and PDO have contributed to the warming of the Peninsula. Beyond the Antarctic Peninsula there has been little significant change in temperature. The two plateau stations had a small cooling from the late 1970s to the late 1990s consistent with the SAM becoming positive, but have subsequently warmed. During spring there has been an Antarctic‐wide warming, with all but one station having experienced an increase in temperature, although the only trends that were significant were at Vostok, Scott base, Vernadsky and Amundsen‐Scott. In this season, much of the Peninsula/West Antarctic warming can be attributed to tropical Pacific forcing through the IPO/PDO.

In this short communication, we examine the relationship between the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM) and Antarctic near‐surface temperatures using data from Antarctic stations for 1957–2004. This near half‐century period is significantly longer than those analysed in previous studies. Furthermore, the four seasons are considered independently while the longer datasets allow the temporal stability of the relationship to be investigated.A general pattern of positive (negative) correlations between the strength of the SAM and temperatures in the northern Antarctic Peninsula (East Antarctica) is shown to be valid for the last half‐century but detailed differences are established between the seasons. These include a seasonal change in the sign of the relationship at one station, while at others there are single seasons when temperatures there are, or, in some cases, are not, significantly related to the SAM. Generally, SAM–temperature correlations are stronger across Antarctica in austral autumn and summer. Estimates of the contribution that trends in the SAM have made to Antarctic near‐surface temperature change between 1957 and 2004 are greatest in autumn: in this season they exceed 1 °C at half the 14 stations examined with a maximum change of − 1.4 °C.There does not appear to have been any significant long‐term change in the strength of SAM‐temperature relationships over the period examined, even with the onset of ozone depletion. However, on an annual basis, the long‐term relationship between the SAM and near‐surface temperatures can be disrupted and even reversed at some stations although coastal East Antarctica appears stable in this respect. These findings give support to the exploitation of appropriate ice core data to determine long‐term changes in the SAM based upon transfer functions derived from recent data. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society.