Record‐breaking above‐normal temperatures were observed across western North America in June–July 2021. In this study, our ability to predict this heatwave 2–3 weeks in advance is assessed based on 10 Subseasonal‐to‐Seasonal prediction models. It is found that the above normal temperature in Western Canada during June 28–July 4 was predicted by most models as early as June 10. However, for the forecasts initialized earlier than June 17, not a single ensemble member of all the models is able to capture the magnitude of the observed temperature anomaly. We identify two important processes: an upper tropospheric wave train associated with the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation in Southeast Asia and an anomalous North Pacific atmospheric river leading to high moisture conditions. Most models are able to predict the wave train across the North Pacific. A realistic representation of moisture transport and its pattern appears crucial for the extended‐range forecast of this heatwave.

Based on the adjusted daily total precipitation data at Canadian stations and the Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) data during the most recent 30 Northern Hemisphere winters, the connection between the tropical convection of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and the intraseasonal variability of precipitation in Canada is investigated. The dominant convection patterns associated with the MJO are represented by the two leading modes of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis that is applied to the pentad outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) in the equatorial Indian Ocean and western Pacific. The first EOF mode is characterized by a single convection center near the Maritime Continent, whereas the second EOF has an east–west dipole structure with enhanced precipitation over the Indian Ocean and reduced convective activity over the tropical western Pacific. Lagged regression analysis reveals significant precipitation anomalies in Canada associated with the tropical convection of the MJO. Above-normal precipitation starts to occur in the west coast of Canada one pentad after a positive EOF2 phase. In the next two pentads, positive precipitation anomalies extend to a large area of south Canada. At the same time, the northeast region experiences reduced precipitation. For strong MJO events when the principal component of EOF2 exceeds its standard deviation, the precipitation anomaly in the west coast of Canada can reach about 20%–30% of its standard deviation of pentad-to-pentad variability. A linearized global primitive equation model is utilized to assess the cause of the intraseasonal variability in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics and its influence on North American weather associated with the tropical heating of the MJO.

Atmospheric rivers are long and narrow bands of enhanced water vapour transport concentrated in the lower troposphere. Many studies have documented the important role of cold-season atmospheric rivers in producing heavy precipitation and extreme flooding events. Relatively little research has been conducted on the warm-season atmospheric rivers and their impacts on heatwave events. Here we show an anomalous warm-season atmospheric river moving across the North Pacific and its interaction with the extreme western North American heatwave in late June 2021. This system transported moisture and heat energy from Southeast Asia to the northeast Pacific. Its landfall over Southeast Alaska resulted in substantial spillover of moisture and sensible heat beyond the Pacific Coast Ranges. We provide evidence indicating that the sensible heat flux convergence and the short-lived greenhouse effect of the trapped moisture could form a positive feedback mechanism leading to the northward expansion of the heatwave event across western Canada.

Landfalling atmospheric rivers (ARs) frequently trigger heavy and sometimes prolonged precipitation, especially in regions with favored orographic enhancement. The presence and strength of ARs are often described using the integrated water vapor (IWV) and the integrated vapor transport (IVT). However, the associated precipitation is not directly correlated with these two variables. Instead, the intensity of precipitation is mainly determined by the net convergence of moisture flux and the initial degree of saturation of the air column. In this study, a simple algorithm is proposed for estimating the heavy precipitation attributable to the IVT convergence. Bearing a strong resemblance to the Kuo‐Anthes parameterization scheme for cumulus convection, the proposed algorithm calculates the large‐scale primary condensation rate (PCR) as a proportion of the IVT convergence, with a reduction to account for the general moistening in the atmosphere. The amount of reduction is determined by the column relative humidity (CRH), which is defined as the ratio of IWV to its saturation counterpart. Our analysis indicates that the diagnosable PCR compares well to the forecast precipitation rate given by a numerical weather prediction model. It is also shown that the PCR in an air column with CRH 0.50 is negligibly small. The usefulness of CRH and PCR as two complements to standard AR analysis is illustrated in three case studies. The potential application of PCR to storm classification is also explored.

A statistical approach to correct a dynamical ensemble forecast of future seasonal means based on the past performance of a general circulation model (GCM) is formulated. The approach combines principal component (PC) analysis with the regression technique to remove the systematic structural (distortion) error from the GCM ensemble. The performance of this statistical–dynamical method is assessed by comparing its cross-validated skill with the explicit skill achieved in the raw GCM ensembles. When the PC regression technique is applied to seasonal means from an ensemble of the Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies (COLA) GCM, it not only recovers most of the explicit skill in the original ensemble mean, but also acts to correct significant errors in the ensemble. It is shown that some ensemble errors are due to noise that can be easily removed by applying a simple regression scheme. A novel aspect of the PC regression technique, however, is that it goes beyond the simple filtering of noise and... Abstract A statistical approach to correct a dynamical ensemble forecast of future seasonal means based on the past performance of a general circulation model (GCM) is formulated. The approach combines principal component (PC) analysis with the regression technique to remove the systematic structural (distortion) error from the GCM ensemble. The performance of this statistical–dynamical method is assessed by comparing its cross-validated skill with the explicit skill achieved in the raw GCM ensembles. When the PC regression technique is applied to seasonal means from an ensemble of the Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies (COLA) GCM, it not only recovers most of the explicit skill in the original ensemble mean, but also acts to correct significant errors in the ensemble. It is shown that some ensemble errors are due to noise that can be easily removed by applying a simple regression scheme. A novel aspect of the PC regression technique, however, is that it goes beyond the simple filtering of noise and...