1. AMMA-UK News January 2006

2. MIT radar  C-band doppler radar to be deployed at Niamey  Funded for around 75 days by NASA  Planned to start 1 June 2006 … and finish on ~ 12 August!

3. SOP0  First flight of DABEX / SOP0 was last Friday – generally successful

4. SOP1 – SOP2 forecasting  Limited forecasting provision at ACMAD agreed  4 forecasters on rotation – 2 per shift and 1 working closely with IOP Planning Group.

5. Partnership  5 Africans invited to be associated – all with WP3 Gaye (LPA, U. Dakar, Senegal) Diop and Diongue (DMN, Senegal) Afiesimama (NIMET, Lagos, Nigeria) Omotosho (Nigeria)  Colleagues from the University of Niamey should also be involved in sodar/tethersonde deployment.

6. Meetings  EU Governing Board: 25 Jan 2006  SOP1 / SOP2 (Leeds?) 4-6 April 2006  SOP1-3 review ~ 9 Nov 2006 in France

7. Challenges for 2006  Funding for Africans  (Funding for) forecasting programme  Radiosondes High frequency Data collection  BADC details  Tessalit

8. Week29/55/612/619/626/ 6 3/73/7 10/717/724/731/77/814/821/828/84/911/9 SOP # SOP1SOP2 Dates 1 June – 30 June1 July – 15 Sept Aircraft SOP 1-aSOP 2-a1SOP 2-a2SOP 2-a3 Dates 1 – 15 June1 – 15 July17 July – 25 August1 – 15 Sept BAe146 17 July – 21 August22 – 28/8 ATR 1 – 15 June1 – 15 July25 July – 25 August F-F20 1 – 15 June1 – 15 July25 July – 25 August1 – 15 Sept D-F20 1 – 15 July1 – 20 August Geoph. 1 – 20 August Sodars June 1 – 21 August Tether- sonde 17 July – 21 August Deployment periods in SOP1 and SOP2