Wavefront fluctuations, rotations, and distortions, measured for a particular arrival in the multipath set for long‐range propagation, were cross correlated with acoustic‐signal time‐base distortions for the same arrival. Although the wavefront perturbations contain higher frequency components than for the signal time‐base fluctuations, significant cross correlation amplitudes were found for time and rotation, time and distortion, and distortion and rotation cross correlations. The results demonstrate that common causes, such as tides, overtides, and internal waves, underlie both the temporal and spatial perturbations of the acoustic signal. Although these perturbations were significantly correlated in a high percentage of the tests, the degree of correlation between them was not stable over periods of days or weeks.Subject Classification:[43]30.20, [43]60.20.