The role of planetary waves in stratosphere-troposphere coupled variability is investigated using an extended singular value decomposition analysis of zonal-mean zonal wind and the vertical component of the Eliassen-Palm (E-P) flux for the winters from 1979/80 to 1995/96. The results suggest a close relationship between anomalies of zonal-mean zonal wind and the convergence zone of E-P flux, which together shift poleward and downward from the stratosphere to the troposphere as time advances. Following enhanced vertical propagation of waves into the stratosphere, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) pattern is seen in the 500 hPa geopotential height field in association with an increased poleward propagation of tropospheric waves. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union