ATLANTIC ARCTIC CYCLONES AND THE MILD SIBERIAN WINTERS OF THE 1980S

The winters of the 1980s were among the warmest on record over norther n Siberia. Daily and monthly sea level pressures, 500 mb heights, and an index of Atlantic storm track extent (toward the northeast) and int ensity, are used to examine atmospheric circulation variability during extremely warm and cold winter months in Siberia. In recent years, th e comparatively warm months are associated with an increased frequency in the passage of intense Atlantic cyclones that enter the extreme no rtheastern Atlantic and traverse the Barents and Kara Seas. These arct ic cyclones bring strong westerly flow into Siberia along with passage s of extensive cyclone warm sectors. Conversely, the surface mean Sibe rian anticyclone and large-scale features such as the North Atlantic O scillation appear to have little effect on warm Siberian winters.