The Climatology of Blocking Anticyclones for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Block Intensity as a Diagnostic

A 30-yr climatology of blocking events was compiled by stratifying the data into seasonal and three regional categories for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres using the NCEP-NCAR reanalyses. Several characteristics of blocking anticyclones were included in the study and these were frequency of occurrence, preferred formation regions, duration, blocking days, and intensity. The block intensity (BI) calculation was modified successfully from a previous study in order to automate the procedure for use with large datasets, and it is applied for the first time to derive a long-term observational record of this quantity. This modification also makes BI suitable for use as a diagnostic tool. Blocking events in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere were the most persistent and strongest during the cold season and over the Atlantic (Pacific) region, as found using BI to measure intensity.