Resumen
The overall goal of Pan American CLIVAR Research on the North American Monsoon System is to determine the sources and limits of predictability of warm season precipitation over North America, with emphasis on time scales ranging up to seasonal-to-interannual. To achieve this goal, several research objectives have been identified including (1) a better understanding of the key components of the monsoon system and their temporal and spatial variability, (2) a better understanding of the role of this system within the global water cycle (3) improved observational data sets, and (4) improved simulation and monthly-to-seasonal prediction of the monsoon and regional water resources. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent progress made towards achieving these objectives and to highlight some of the future challenges based on gaps in our understanding.