In the WAMME experiment I, the WAMME GCMs’ and RCMs’ performances in simulating the variability of West African monsoon (WAM) precipitation, surface temperature, and major circulation features at seasonal and intraseasonal scales have been evaluated (Xue et al., 2010; Druyan et al., 2010; Boone et al., 2010, Climate Dynamics).  The analyses indicate that despite deficiencies in many aspects, models generally have reasonable simulations of the spatial distribution of WAM seasonal mean precipitation and surface temperature as well as the average zonal wind in latitude-height cross-section and low-level circulation.  Common deficiencies in model simulation were identified.  Analyses based on preliminary results have also revealed that model simulated WAMs are highly sensitive to SST, land surface, and aerosol forcing and parameterizations.