Graphical Abstract

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Hitchman, M. H., S. Yoden, P. H. Haynes, V. Kumar, and S. Tegtmeier, 2021: An observational history of the direct influence of the stratospheric Quasi-biennial Oscillation on the tropical and subtropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 99, 239-267.
Review Articles,
https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2021-012
Graphical Abstract Published

Plain Language Summary: The history of observational studies regarding the influence of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) on the tropical and subtropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is described. The seasonal and geographical variation of QBO westerly (W) minus easterly (E) differences in UTLS temperature, pressure, and zonal wind is presented. Results from the periods 1958-1978 and 1978-2000 using National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalyses are compared with modern updates using Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2) data for 1980-2017, and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting Reanalysis – Interim (ERA-Interim) data for 1979-2018.  

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Highlights:

• QBO W in lower stratosphere favors warmer tropical UTLS and colder subtropical UTLS
• Agreement among data sets, with larger temperature signal near seasonal convective centers
• Subtropical signal enhanced during MAM in both hemispheres, JJA in SH, and DJF in NH
• Subtropical westerly jets enhanced during QBO W, especially during MAM
• Annual and seasonal depictions of QBO structure in temperature, zonal wind, and MMC