Monday, 6 June 2005

MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - NORTHERN TERRITORY

Northern Territory in May 2005 - Dry Spell continues in the south.

 

2005 witnessed a warm and dry May in the Territory. While not unusual, the dry month in southern parts of the Territory perpetuated a long-running dry spell, with numerous locations experiencing their driest 12-month period on record. Dry conditions are consistent with above average maximum and below average minimum temperatures, which were seen over much of the Territory in May 2005. Maximum temperatures were generally above average, particularly through the Alice Springs region, where monthly-means were 2-3^oC above average. Minimum temperatures were mixed, with the southern parts of the Alice Springs region being warmer than average, while most areas further north were cooler than average.

Maps displaying recent temperature and rainfall patterns can be seen on the Bureau’s web site.

A table of State extremes, some new records, and summaries for sites across the Territory appear below.

Extremes

Weather extremes during May 2005
Highest temperature Hottest day	36.7 °C	Timber Creek on 10th
Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average	34.2 °C	Bradshaw
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average	24.9 °C	Arltunga and Kulgera
Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day	18.0 °C	Arltunga on 28th
Lowest temperature Coldest night	0.5 °C	Kulgera on 31st
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average	7.6 °C	Alice Springs Airport
Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average	28.0 °C	Warruwi
Highest daily minimum Warmest night	29.0 °C	Dum In Mirrie on the 2nd
Highest total rainfall Wettest overall	38.4 mm	Ngayawili
Highest daily rainfall Wettest day	27.4 mm	Ngayawili on 12th

Records

Record Lowest Total Rainfall for May
	Total rainfall for May 2005 (mm)	Previous lowest for May		Years of record
Yirrkala Tropical Gardens	4.0	4.7	in 1988	23
McCluer Island	0.0	0.2	in 2002	11

Record Lowest 12-month Cummulative Rainfall Totals for June to May
	Total rainfall for June 2004 - May 2005 (mm)	Previous lowest May-June		Years of record
Alice Springs Airport	36.6	82.4	1961/62	63
Arltunga	37.6	74.1	1926/27	53
Yuendumu	91.1	121.6	1964/65	45
Rabbit Flat	71.4	179.4	1991/92	34
Tennant Creek	173.6	189.2	1991/92	34
Ali Curung	82.3	170.7	1968/69	25
Gemtree	85.4	173.0	1995/96	14
Watarrka	92.5	103.1	1991/92	14

 

Summaries

Summary statistics for May 2005
	Maximum temperatures for May (°C)			Minimum temperatures for May (°C)			Rainfall for May (mm)
	Mean for 2005	Difference from normal	Highest for 2005	Mean for 2005	Difference from normal	Lowest for 2005	Total for 2005	Normal total
Ali Curung	28.8	+1.3	33.0	11.7	-0.3	6.3	0	17
Alice Springs Airport	26.0	+3.0	31.4	7.6	-0.7	1.1	0	20
Alyangula Police	30.9	+0.1	32.5	20.2	-1.0	17.5	36	32
Arltunga	24.9		30.4	8.8		3.0	0	21
Batchelor Aero	33.6		36.1	17.1		12.7	0	13
Borroloola	32.8	+0.3	35.5	14.0	-1.9	8.0	1	3
Brunette Downs	30.9	+1.1	35.0	14.3	-0.7	7.8	0	8
Centre Island	29.8	+0.2	33.2	22.4	-0.2	19.1	0	13
Channel Point			34.3			14.0	0	9
Curtin Springs	26.9	+3.1	32.4	10.8	+2.2	4.8	0	18
Daly Waters AWS	32.9	+1.9	35.7	14.6	-1.7	10.1	0	8
Darwin Airport	32.6	+0.6	34.2	21.7	-0.5	18.0	0	21
Delamere Weapons Range	32.3		35.0	17.3		14.0	0
Douglas River	33.8	+0.6	36.5	15.1	-1.5	9.7	0	9
Dum In Mirrie AWS	32.4		34.6	21.1		17.3	0	15
Elliott			36.3			10.7	0	8
Gove Airport	30.1	+0.2	31.5	21.5	-1.2	17.0	15	80
Jabiru Airport	33.6	+0.2	35.8	20.6	-1.0	15.8	0	11
Jervois	27.1	+1.7	32.0	10.5	+0.7	5.0	0	20
Katherine Aviation Museum	32.3	0	34.9	15.3	-1.6	9.3	0	6
Kidman Springs			36.0			9.5	0	4
Kulgera	24.9	+2.4	31.6	10.5	+1.3	0.5	0	12
Lajamanu	31.8	+2.7	36.0	13.6	+0.5	9.0	0	7
Larrimah	32.2	+0.4	35.2	14.5	-2.0	10.0	0	9
Mango Farm	33.7	+0.5	36.0	16.6	-2.0	10.9	0	9
Maningrida	32.0	+0.1	34.5	20.6	-0.5	16.5	3	24
McCluer Island	29.4		30.7	25.4		23.3	0	42
Ngukurr	32.6	+0.7	35.5	19.2	0	15.0	1	11
Oenpelli			34.7			15.3	1	15
Papunya	27.5		32.0	12.0		6.0	0	24
Point Fawcett	31.6		33.1	21.6		17.9	0	33
Rabbit Flat	31.1		35.1	11.0		6.3	0
Tennant Creek Airport	29.0	+1.4	32.8	17.1	+0.7	11.9	0	8
Territory Grape Farm	26.9	+1.3	31.0	9.2	0	3.0	0	27
Timber Creek	33.6	+0.6	36.7	15.0	-3.6	10.8	0	8
Tindal RAAF	32.2	0	34.6	15.4	-2.1	10.1	0	1
Victoria River Downs	32.4	+0.5	35.3	13.1	-3.1	6.8	1	6
Warruwi	31.5	+0.7	33.0	23.8	-0.2	22.0	6	15
Watarrka	27.3	+2.5	32.5	13.6	+2.8	7.5	0	28
Wave Hill	32.1	+0.9	35.0	14.1	-1.0	9.0	0	8
Wollogorang	31.9	+0.4	34.9	13.7	-1.9	7.4	0	8
Yuendumu	28.0	+2.9	31.5	10.6	-0.7	5.9	0	25
Yulara Aero	26.4	+1.8	32.2	10.5	+1.3	4.9	0	15

Note

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Monday 6 June 2005. Although every effort has been made to verify the data, it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Further information

The Daily Weather Observations lists daily temperatures and rainfall, plus many other meteorological variables, at more than 50 locations across the Territory (and over 700 across Australia). Data from the last 13 months are available from this web site.

Monthly rainfall and temperature maps are also available.

Further climate data and information can be obtained from:
Climate and Consultative Services
Northern Territory Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au