Abstract The Pacific sea surface temperature data contains two components: N L , a signal that exhibits the familiar El Nino/La Nina phenomenon and N H , a signal of one-year period. Analysis reveals: (1) The existence of an annual solar forcing F S ; (2) N H is phase locked directly to F S while N L is frequently phase locked to the 2nd or 3rd subharmonic of F S . At least ten distinct subharmonic time segments of N L since 1870 are found. The beginning or end dates of these segments have a near one-to-one correspondence with the abrupt climate changes previously reported. Limited predictability is possible.