  General atmospheric circulation is the system of atmospheric motions over the
Earth on the scale of the whole globe. Two main types of circulation have been
identified: zonal - characterized by low amplitude waves in the troposphere
moving quickly from west to east, and meridional with stationary high amplitude
waves when the meridional transfer is intensified. The prevailing type of
circulation is related to global climate. Based on many years of observations,
certain circulation epochs have been defined when the same type of circulation
prevails for years or decades. Here we study the relation between long-term
changes in solar activity and prevailing type of atmospheric circulation, using
NAO index reconstructed for the last four centuries as a proxy for large-scale
atmospheric circulation. We find that when the southern solar hemisphere is
more active, increasing solar activity in the secular solar cycle results in
increasing zonality of the circulation, while when the northern solar
hemisphere is more active, increasing solar activity increases meridional
circulation. In an attempt to explain the observations, we compare the
short-term reaction of NAO and NAM indices to different solar drivers: powerful
solar flares, high speed solar wind streams, and magnetic clouds
