Using daily (monthly) rainfall data from 167 (254) stations across West Africa with at least 80% data availability for the 31-year period 1980-2010 and the gridded African Rainfall Climatology Version 2 (ARC2) for the period 1983-2010, linear trends in yearly and monthly rainfall totals were investigated. Measures of the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) and two rainy season onset and retreat definitions were employed to assess the corresponding trends in frequency and intensity of daily rainfall and changes to monsoon season length. A rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis yielded two homogeneous rainfall regions, the Sahel and Guinea Coast, in terms of interannual to decadal rainfall variability, and this led to analysis of station data and Standardised Precipitation Index for the two regions. Results show that the majority of stations in the Sahel between the West Coast and 15 ∘ E shows a statistically significant positive rainfall trend for annual totals. The August-October period exhibits the largest rainfall recovery in the Sahel and the date of the retreat of the rainy season significantly moved later into the year by 2 days decade −1 . The recovery is reflected both in more rainy days associated with longer wet spell duration and more extreme rainfall events. Trends along the Guinea Coast are weak and non-significant except for extreme rainfall related indices. This missing significance is partly related to the hiatus in rainfall increase in the 1990s, but also to the larger interannual rainfall variability. However, the tendency towards a more intense second rainy season suggests a later withdrawal of rains from the West African subcontinent. ARC2 trends are broadly consistent where ground calibration was undertaken, but are dubious for Nigeria and Ghana, and especially for the Guinea, Jos and Cameroon Line highlands due to missing gauge data.

Synoptic observations and various satellite products have been utilized for computing climatologies of low-level stratus over southern West Africa for the wet monsoon seasons July-September of 2006-2011. Previous studies found inconsistencies between satellite cloud products; climate models often fail to reproduce the extensive stratus decks. Therefore, a better observational reference and an understanding of its limitations are urgently needed to better validate models. Most detailed information of the spatiotemporal characteristics of low-level clouds was obtained from two Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite-based data sets. However, CALIPSO and CloudSat cross sections of cloud occurrence frequency suggest that both MSG products underestimate the low-level cloudiness over Nigeria due to shielding by abundant upper level and midlevel clouds and reveal that the stratus is lower over the continent than over the ocean. The Terra Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer product appears to overestimate the morning extent of low-level clouds. The climatology presented here shows that the zone of abundant low-level stratiform clouds is at its diurnal minimum south of 6-7°N around sunset (~1800 UTC). Thereafter, it starts to spread inland and reaches its maximum northward extent of 10-11°N between 0900 and 1000 UTC. The maximum affected area is approximately 800,000 km 2 . After about 1000 UTC, the northern boundary gets fragmented due to the breakup of stratus decks into fair-weather cumuli. The stratus is most frequent around Cape Palmas, over Ivory Coast, and at the windward sides of the Mampong Range (Ghana) and Oshogbo Hills (Nigeria).

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