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During the period from June 21-30, 2009, the African portion of the Intertropical Front (ITF) was located near 14.5N degrees, while the normal for this time of year is 15.8N degrees, which was also the position in 2008. Figure 1 shows the current position compared to normal, and it is apparent from this diagram that the ITF continues to be significantly suppressed across most of Africa, but it does continue to move northward. The southward anomaly of the ITF in the east has shrunk over the last dekad. Comparing the current position with the 1979-2008 average, the historical average is around 13.4N in the east, and the current position is around 14.4N. In the west the ITF is less suppressed with a historical average position of 16.8N, compared to the current of 15.8N. Figures 2 and 3 show the somewhat erratic movements of the ITF so far this year.

Dekad	15W	10W	5W	0	5E	10E	15E	20E	25E	30E	35E
April 1	9.6	11.0	11.0	11.5	11.0	10.4	10.5	10.3	10.0	9.8	9.8
April 2	10.2	11.8	12.5	12.8	12.7	12.9	13.2	12.7	11.7	10.9	10.9
April 3	9.8	11.4	12.0	13.3	12.7	12.6	12.4	11.6	11.0	11.0	11.4
May 1	10.7	12.5	13.8	14.5	14.4	14.0	13.0	11.6	11.6	12.1	12.5
May 2	10.9	13.0	14.8	15.6	14.1	13.0	12.6	11.5	10.2	9.4	9.7
May 3	12.2	13.8	14.9	15.7	14.5	13.5	13.1	12.3	10.4	10.9	12.1
June 1	12.9	14.2	15.4	15.5	15.0	13.5	12.6	11.7	11.4	12.3	13.6
June 2	14.0	15.2	16.0	16.2	15.1	14.2	13.4	12.4	11.9	11.8	12.8
June 3	14.1	15.8	16.4	16.2	15.2	14.4	14.1	13.1	12.8	13.5	14.3