During the period from May 21-31, 2008, the African portion of the Intertropical Front (ITF) was located at around 13.9 degrees north latitude, slightly south of 14.1 degrees north, the normal. Figure 1 displays the current position compared to normal, with the ITF currently very close to normal only in Niger and Chad. West of here the ITF has been lagging throughout much of the season, meanwhile to the east the ITF has moved north of normal. Despite this rainfall has been slightly below normal across various locations south of the ITF. The ITF is currently 14.3 degrees north in the west and 13.5 degrees north in the east Compared with the 1979-2007 mean of around 15.2 degrees north in the west, and a normal position of around 12.9N in the east.
Mean Position of the ITF
10 degrees west - 10 degrees east longitude
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
Mar 1-10 Mar 11-20 Mar 21-31 April 1-10 April 11-20 April 21-30 May 1-10 May 11-20 May 21-31 Jun 1-10 Jun 11-20 Jun 21-30 Jul 1-10 Jul 11-20 Jul 21-31 Aug 1-10 Aug 11-20 Aug 21-31 Sep 1-10 Sep 11-20 Sep 21-30 Oct 1-10 Oct 11-20 Oct 21-31 Nov 1-10 Nov 11-20 Nov 21-30
Latitude (Degrees N)
2008 1979-2006
Mean Position of the ITF
20-35 degrees east longitude
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
Mar 1-10 Mar 11-20 Mar 21-31 April 1-10 April 11-20 April 21-30 May 1-10 May 11-20 May 21-31 Jun 1-10 Jun 11-20 Jun 21-30 Jul 1-10 Jul 11-20 Jul 21-31 Aug 1-10 Aug 11-20 Aug 21-31 Sep 1-10 Sep 11-20 Sep 21-30 Oct 1-10 Oct 11-20 Oct 21-31 Nov 1-10 Nov 11-20 Nov 21-30
Latitude (Degrees N)
2008 1988-2007
Figure 1
Figure 3 Figure 2
