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We thank D. Nychka for discussions; G. Branstator for the convective heating anomaly results; and L. Buja J. Arblaster and G. Strand for assistance on the CMIP2+ results from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 plus (www-pcmdi.llrl.gov/cmip). This work was supported in part by the Weather and Climate Impact Assessment Initiative at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. A portion of this study was also supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research U.S. Department of Energy as part of its Climate Change Prediction Program and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by NSF.