Potential predictability during a Madden–Julian oscillation event

The boreal 2004/05 winter is used as a case study to conduct predictability experiments with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. That winter season was characterized by an MJO event, weak El Nino, strong North Atlantic Oscillation, and extremely wet conditions over the contiguous United States (CONUS).

The issues investigated are as follows: 1) growth of forecast errors in the tropics relative to the extratropics, 2) propagation of forecast errors from the tropics to the extratropics, 3) forecast error growth on spatial scales associated with MJO and non-MJO variability, and 4) the relative importance of MJO and non-MJO tropical variability on predictability of precipitation over CONUS.