Dynamic tidal theory is generalized in order to predict the oceanic response to atmospheric pressure variations. The oceans are found to exhibit distinct dynamic behavior when forced at periods less than 1 week; depending on the harmonic type of forcing, the amplitude of the response can differ by ~20% or more from the static response. Even at roughly 2 months the traditional ''inverted barometer'' may not be sufficiently accurate for applications in which detection of long-term sea level trends or vertical crustal motion is the goal. For forcing at periods of order 1 year the oceanic response differs by at most a few percent from the static (not the inverted barometer) response; thus calculations of meteorological excitation of the annual and Chandler wobbles can employ the static approximation without reservation. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988