Oort, A. H., 1977: The Interannual Variability of Atmospheric Circulation Statistics, NOAA Professional Paper 8, 76 pp.

Abstract: The year-to-year variability of various zonal mean general circulation parameters is described, based on daily data from about 600 Northern Hemisphere rawinsonde stations for the two 5-yr periods May 1958 through April 1963, and May 1968 through April 1973. Most of the statistics presented are based on the 1958-1963 sample. The parameters studied include the wind components, temperature, geopotential height, and specific humidity, as well as their variances in time and space and their meridional and vertical transports. The main body of the report consists of tables and graphs of interannual standard deviations computed for the different calendar months as a function of latitude and pressure. A comparison between the results for the first and second 5-yr periods shows that the statistics do not depend generally on the specific 5-yr period chosen. Together with the results for the 1958-1963 mean conditions given in an earlier paper by Oort and Rasmusson, the present compilation should give a reasonably complete and representative picture of recent climate conditions in the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere.