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HOME > FEWS-NET > Africa > Africa ITCZ Monitoring

Africa Intertropical Front

For historical ITF dekadal data and analyses, or for any issues with this product
Please contact: nicholas.novella@noaa.gov or wassila.thiaw@noaa.gov


For the latest ITCZ .pdf file, --> Click Here

Mean vs Current Mean ITCZ


West Region East Region
West
ITCZ East
ITCZ

Latest Text Summary



From June 1-10, 2013, the ITF advanced poleward across eastern and far western portions. However, the ITF stalled across much of the west. The mean western portion of the ITF (10W-10E) was located approximately at 15.5 degrees North, which was 0.4 degrees south of the mean climatological position. The anomalously southward placement of the ITF coincided with below average dekadal rainfall in Niger and northern Nigeria as moisture was kept to the south. The position of the ITF this year stands in contrast to last year when the ITF was located at 16.4 degrees North. The mean eastern portion of the ITF (20E-35E) was located approximately at 14.0 degrees North, which is 0.5 degrees north of the mean climatological position. The anomalously poleward position of the ITF across eastern portions resulted in above average dekadal rainfall in Sudan. Figure 1 shows the current ITF position relative to its long-term average position during the first dekad of June and its previous position during the third dekad of May. Figures 2 and 3 are time series, illustrating the mean latitudinal values of the western and eastern portion of the ITF, respectively, and their evolutions since April, 2013.

Dekad 15W 10W 5W 0 5E 10E 15E 20E 25E 30E 35E
April 1 11.2 12.0 12.0 12.9 13.3 10.9 9.5 9.6 7.2 6.2 7.6
April 2 10.0 10.9 12.9 15.1 14.4 10.7 8.6 10.0 8.4 8.1 8.6
April 3 8.4 11.1 13.8 15.1 15.7 14.6 12.2 13.6 11.2 9.8 10.0
May 1 11.9 13.5 13.7 14.8 15.6 12.2 12.3 13.5 12.5 12.0 12.1
May 2 14.8 14.3 16.2 16.5 15.1 12.2 13.4 12.5 10.7 11.5 13.3
May 3 13.9 13.9 15.1 15.9 15.6 14.3 13.9 13.6 11.8 12.5 14.2
June 1 15.5 15.2 16.7 15.8 15.5 14.3 14.2 13.8 13.4 14.0 14.9


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Page last modified: February 22, 2006
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