During the period from October 11 - 20, 2008, the African portion of the Intertropical Front (ITF) was located at around 13.1 degrees north latitude, compared to the mean of 13.9. This is approximately a 2.5 degree drop from last dekad. Figure 1 displays the current position compared to normal, with the ITF moving rapidly southward from its position last dekad across the continent. The ITF is now slightly south of average across Senegal, Mali and Chad. Due to the rapid movement of the ITF during the past dekad, rainfall from early in the period fell north of the dekad long mean. The ITF is positioned at 13.9 degrees north in the west and 12.5 degrees north in the east. Compared with the 1979-2007 mean of around 14.5 degrees north in the west, and a normal position of around 13.0 degrees north in the east.
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
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
Figure 1
Figure 3 Figure 2
