We argue that the 11-year periodic solar cycle input assisted by intrinsic climatic noise can produce transient correlations between activity on the Sun and the Earth's temperature. The argument is based on wavelet analysis of simultaneous, 140 year time series of terrestrial global temperature and solar activity. It is supported by a simple model utilizing the concept of stochastic resonance, a unique effect of amplification of a weak, periodic signal by a noisy, nonlinear system. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union