Seasonal-to-Interannual Predictability of western North American Hydroclimate: The Utility of Multimodel Ensembles

Using ensemble simulations of 20th and 21st century climate from the IPCC AR4 archive, we examine the seasonal to interannual predictability of western North American climate. The utility of multimodel ensembles is assessed within the context of the agreement and spread in conditional hydroclimatic distributions developed on seasonal scales. The impact of projected climatic trajectories (temperature and precipitation) on the nature and frequency of western North American droughts is also examined.