How Good Are Predictions of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?

This seminar has been recorded and can be seen HERE

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a leading mode of seasonal climate variability over the globe.   In addition, ENSO is predictable, meaning that unlike some other weather and climate patterns, empirical and dynamical models capture enough ENSO-related physics that they can, with some accuracy, forecast the future evolution of ENSO many seasons in advance.  For this reason ENSO is commonly used in making long-range climate outlooks.  However, how skillful are these ENSO outlooks?  In this talk, we will go over how the NOAA Climate Prediction (CPC) makes their operational (routine) monthly ENSO outlooks.   We will also cover the concept of prediction skill, and discuss what kind of skill results from current generation models that predict ENSO.   In particular, making predictions that start in the spring remains quite challenging despite several decades of model development.  We will go over recent research that focuses on “False Alarms,” or predictions of El Niño events that ended up not happening in reality.  Finally, we will discuss some other challenges in predicting ENSO, and offer some developmental pathways that could help improve these outlooks and our understanding of ENSO.     

This talk is presented as a Zoom Webinar. For anyone outside the department; If you would like to attend, email [email protected]

• Topic: Michelle L'Heureux Colloquium
• Date: Oct 14, 2020
• Time: 3:30-4:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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