The Paleoclimates From Arctic Lakes and Estuaries (PALE) project has been investigating methods of doing high-resolution model-data comparisons for the Arctic. As a prelude to a paleosimulation of the North Atlantic region, a modern simulation using observationally driven reanalysis data has been completed. The ARCSyM mesoscale model has been configured for the North Atlantic region, including Labrador, Ungava, Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island, Greenland, and Iceland, with a resolution of 70 km. This high resolution is necessary to predict sub-GCM grid-scale climate processes, such as precipitation and storm patterns that depend upon the detailed topography and coastlines of the region. Experiments were performed for the time period of September 1987 to March 1990, driven by observational analyses. The model accurately captures the major summer and winter circulation systems in the North Atlantic region. Comparisons with meteorological station data show high correlations for winter and summer surface temperatures, with a cold bias in winter and a warm bias in summer. Winter precipitation is well simulated by the model because it is driven by the large-scale circulation. The orographically driven summer precipitation is overrepresented and does not correlate well with observations, although the overall pattern is correct. These results show that the model is capable of capturing the correct temperature and precipitation patterns, although grid-to-grid comparisons are not possible. The mesoscale model is therefore useful for regionally based data-model comparisons, but should not be used to compare individual cores with specific model grids. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union