We show that the winter time series of the Ras Umm Sidd coral oxygen isotope record from the northern Red Sea (approximately 28 ¿N) is linked to the Arctic Oscillation phenomenon, the Northern Hemisphere's dominant mode of atmospheric variability. Until now, the detection of this mode, which is most prominent in winter, in proxy climate records was difficult due to the lack of a clear seasonality in most paleoclimatic archives. The results suggest that northern Red Sea corals can provide information about the low-frequency variability of the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation during the pre-instrumental period. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union