THE SENSITIVITY OF MEDITERRANEAN WINTER TO SIBERIAN SNOW COVER VARIABILITY

Snow cover extent over Siberia in Autumn was found to be a driver of winter circulation and a potential source of pre- dictability on a seasonal range. We present an analysis based on a seasonal forecast system (SPS3) compositing November start dates with large (SNOW+) and low (SNOW-) Siberian snow cover extent (SSC) and a set of planned experiments with the corresponding atmospheric model forced by observed boundary conditions. The experimental setup is targeted at recognizing and describing the constructive interference between snow and Arctic sea ice forcing, that has been documented in previous studies.