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The performance of a new statistical framework containing various structural equation modelling (SEM) models is evaluated in a pseudo-proxy experiment in comparison with the performance of statistical models used in many detection and attribution studies. Each statistical model was fitted to seven continental-scale regional temperature data sets. The results indicated the SEM specification is the most appropriate for describing the underlying latent structure of the simulated data analysed.

This work theoretically motivates an extension of the statistical model used in so-called detection and attribution studies to structural equation modelling. The application of one of the models suggested is exemplified in a small numerical study, whose aim was to check the assumptions typically placed on ensembles of climate model simulations when constructing mean sequences. he result of this study indicated that some ensembles for some regions may not satisfy the assumptions in question.

We study wind conditions and their potential future changes across the U.S. via a statistical conditional framework. We conclude that changes between historical and future wind directions are small, but wind speeds are generally weakened in the projected period, with some locations being intensified. Moreover, winter wind speeds are projected to decrease in the northwest, Colorado, and the northern Great Plains (GP), while summer wind speeds over the southern GP slightly increase in the future.

Most climate time series contain annual and diurnal cycles. However, an objective criterion for deciding whether two time series have statistically equivalent annual and diurnal cycles is lacking, particularly if the residual variability is serially correlated. Such a criterion would be helpful in deciding whether a new version of a climate model better simulates such cycles. This paper derives an objective rule for such decisions based on a rigorous statistical framework.