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MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - NORTHERN TERRITORY
After a very warm twelve months across the Territory, maximum and minimum temperatures were mostly near average this August. Darwin recorded its warmest twelve-month September to August period on record.
Rainfall over the Territory was varied, with the north and east coastal regions and far south-western parts experiencing very much above rainfall, while large areas in the centre and south of the Territory received no rain at all. Large areas of the Territory still experience serious long-term rainfall deficiencies, with some lowest-on-record 15-month totals recorded.
Rainfall
As mentioned above, August 2005 saw above-, to very much above-average rainfall over parts of the north and east Top End and far west of the Alice Springs district. Several stations in the Arnhem district recorded rainfall that was in the highest 10% of records with both Numbulwar and Alyangula exceeding highest total rainfall records.
Very active “gulf-lines” and many days of moist easterly winds brought the unusually high rainfalls to the Arnhem and Roper-McArthur districts, while the unusually high rainfall in the far west of the Alice Springs district was caused by showers and storms embedded in the leading edge of a cloud band that formed ahead of a low-pressure system over Western Australia during the last week of the month.
The remainder of the Territory saw very little rainfall, though this is not particularly unusual for August.
The highest monthly rainfall total was 29mm at Wulungurru, while the highest daily rainfall total was 20mm at Docker River on the 27th.
Despite some large winter rainfall in the Alice Springs district in June and July, long-term rainfall deficiencies persist. See the table below for stations that have recorded lowest-on-record 15-month totals. Alice Springs has recorded its lowest 15-month total since 1964/65.
Maximum Temperatures
This month saw a return to generally near average maximum temperatures over the Territory after a long period of above-, to very much above-average maximum temperatures dominating the Territory over the last twelve months. Darwin has recorded its hottest September to August 12-month period on record, with an average maximum temperature of 32.82°C. The previous highest of 32.75°C was recorded in 1997/98. Darwin’s highest 12-month average temperature for any 12-month period is 32.90°C, being for the period November 1997 – October 1998.
Maximum temperatures were highest over the last few days of the month as a ridge along the Queensland coast directed moist tropical easterly winds over the Top End, that turned more northwesterly over the Alice Springs district ahead of and approaching trough. Interestingly, there was around a ten-degree drop in maximum temperatures from the 18th to the 19th as a trough moving across the Alice Springs district brought a cool southeasterly change behind it.
The highest mean daily maximum temperature was 34.0°C at Middle Point AWS, while the lowest was 21.6°C at Arltunga. The hottest day was 36.7°C at Bradshaw on the 31st and the coolest day was 15.2°C at Arltunga on the 7th. Ngukurr exceeded its lowest mean maximum temperature record this month recording a mean of 31.4°C
Minimum Temperatures
Minimum temperatures across the Territory also returned to generally near average this month, apart from some areas in the far east and south where minimum temperatures remained 1 to 2 degrees above the mean.
Most stations in the north recorded their warmest nights during the first week of the month as a shallow mid-level cloud band covered the area, preventing night-time temperatures from dropping. The next week saw cloudless skies and dry air extending over the Territory, resulting in most stations recording their coolest nights for the month. Most stations recorded warm overnight temperatures again during the last week as another mid-level cloud band covered large areas of the Territory.
The lowest mean daily minimum temperature was 5.3°C at Arltunga, while the highest was 22.5°C at Black Point. The coolest night was –4.1°C at Arltunga on the 9th and the warmest night was 24.3°C at Black Point on the 7th. Both Wollogorang and Lajamanu exceeded their highest daily minimum temperature records with 22.0°C on the 5th and 22.0°C on the 27th, respectively.
A table of Territory extremes,
some new records,
and summaries for sites across the Territory
appear below.
Weather extremes during August 2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature Hottest day |
36.7 °C |
Bradshaw on the 31st | |
| Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average |
34.0 °C |
Middle Point AWS | |
| Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average |
21.6 °C |
Arltunga | |
| Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day |
15.2 °C |
Arltunga on the 7th | |
| Lowest temperature Coldest night |
-4.1 °C |
Arltunga on the 9th | |
| Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average |
5.3 °C |
Arltunga | |
| Highest mean daily minimum temperature Mildest nights on average |
22.5 °C |
Black Point | |
| Highest daily minimum Warmest night |
24.3 °C |
Black Point and Bradshaw on the 7th |
|
| Highest total rainfall Wettest overall |
29.0 mm |
Wulungurru | |
| Highest daily rainfall Wettest day |
20.0 mm |
Docker River on the 27th | |
Record Highest Total Rainfall for August |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall for August 2005 (mm) |
Previous highest for August |
Years of record |
||
Numbulwar * |
7.0 |
4.2 |
in 1981 |
31 |
Alyangula Police * |
13.5 |
12.6 |
in 1974 |
28 |
Record Highest Daily Rainfall for August |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily rainfall in August 2005 (mm) |
Previous highest for August |
Years of record |
||||
Ngukurr * |
4.0 |
on the 5th |
2.8 |
on the 29th in 1924 |
68 |
|
Numbulwar * |
7.0 |
on the 8th |
0.8 |
on the 2nd in 1982 |
30 |
|
Record Lowest 15-Month Cumulative Rainfall Totals for June 2004 to August 2005 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall (mm) |
Previous lowest (mm) |
Years of record |
||
Tennant Creek Airport * |
189.0 |
189.2 |
in 1991 |
33 |
Ali Curung * |
129.4 |
171.7 |
in 1991 |
23 |
Gemtree Park * |
175.2 |
196.7 |
in 1991 |
11 |
Record Lowest Mean Maximum Temperature for August |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature for August 2005 (°C) |
Previous lowest for August |
Years of record |
||
Ngukurr |
31.4 |
31.5 |
in 1963 |
12 |
Record Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for August |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature in August 2005 (°C) |
Previous highest for August |
Years of record |
||||
Wollogorang |
22.0 |
on the 5th |
21.0 |
on the 30th in 1996 |
21 |
|
Lajamanu |
22.0 |
on the 27th |
21.7 |
on the 24th in 1971 |
10 |
|
Summary statistics for August 2005 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures for August (°C) |
Minimum temperatures for August (°C) |
Rainfall for August (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 |
26.3 |
-1.1 |
33.0 |
9.9 |
+0.7 |
2.5 |
0 |
4 |
Alice Springs Airport |
22.4 |
-0.1 |
32.0 |
5.6 |
-0.4 |
-0.4 |
0 |
10 |
Alyangula Police |
28.7 |
-0.4 |
31.2 |
18.6 |
+0.6 |
14.9 |
14 |
1 |
Arltunga |
21.6 |
30.6 |
5.3 |
-4.1 |
0 |
7 |
||
Batchelor Aero |
33.4 |
35.1 |
17.0 |
11.6 |
10 |
|||
Black Point |
30.9 |
+0.6 |
32.4 |
22.5 |
+1.2 |
19.1 |
0 |
2 |
Borroloola |
31.0 |
-0.7 |
33.2 |
14.2 |
+0.6 |
6.7 |
0 |
|
Brunette Downs |
29.4 |
-0.1 |
35.0 |
12.9 |
+0.4 |
5.4 |
0 |
1 |
Centre Island |
27.8 |
+0.1 |
29.3 |
20.1 |
+0.6 |
17.3 |
1 |
2 |
Channel Point |
30.2 |
+0.6 |
32.5 |
17.7 |
-0.5 |
12.2 |
6 |
7 |
Curtin Springs |
23.0 |
+0.1 |
30.5 |
6.5 |
+0.9 |
-1.5 |
1 |
8 |
Daly Waters AWS |
31.6 |
+0.8 |
35.0 |
13.0 |
-0.2 |
4.9 |
0 |
0 |
Darwin Airport |
32.0 |
+0.7 |
33.7 |
20.4 |
-0.1 |
16.7 |
1 |
6 |
Delamere Weapons Range |
31.3 |
34.0 |
16.7 |
11.0 |
0 |
|||
Douglas River |
33.3 |
-0.2 |
35.5 |
15.1 |
+0.8 |
7.6 |
0 |
1 |
Dum In Mirrie AWS |
31.2 |
33.3 |
19.7 |
15.3 |
1 |
|||
Gove Airport |
28.2 |
-0.3 |
29.8 |
19.5 |
+0.4 |
15.2 |
22 |
5 |
Jabiru Airport |
33.7 |
0 |
35.4 |
19.7 |
+0.6 |
15.2 |
0 |
3 |
Jervois |
24.4 |
-0.6 |
33.0 |
7.9 |
+1.1 |
0.0 |
0 |
9 |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
31.8 |
-0.7 |
34.1 |
15.6 |
+0.8 |
9.2 |
0 |
1 |
Kidman Springs |
32.2 |
-0.8 |
35.3 |
13.3 |
-0.8 |
4.0 |
0 |
0 |
Kulgera |
22.0 |
+0.2 |
31.0 |
7.3 |
+0.6 |
0.3 |
0 |
10 |
Lajamanu |
30.0 |
-0.1 |
35.0 |
12.8 |
+1.3 |
6.0 |
0 |
1 |
Larrimah |
31.3 |
-0.6 |
33.8 |
13.8 |
-0.5 |
8.0 |
0 |
0 |
Mango Farm |
33.4 |
-0.1 |
35.8 |
16.3 |
+0.3 |
9.4 |
1 |
3 |
Maningrida |
30.8 |
0 |
32.4 |
19.0 |
+1.1 |
14.8 |
0 |
0 |
McArthur River Mine |
31.9 |
-0.1 |
34.8 |
14.0 |
+0.8 |
5.1 |
0 |
0 |
McCluer Island |
27.6 |
28.8 |
21.4 |
0 |
||||
Ngukurr |
31.4 |
-0.6 |
34.3 |
17.5 |
+1.6 |
12.6 |
4 |
0 |
Oenpelli |
35.5 |
14.8 |
0 |
1 |
||||
Papunya |
24.3 |
31.0 |
7.7 |
-0.5 |
2 |
7 |
||
Point Fawcett |
31.8 |
33.3 |
20.3 |
17.0 |
0 |
|||
Rabbit Flat |
28.8 |
35.6 |
10.7 |
1.5 |
1 |
|||
Tennant Creek Airport |
26.9 |
-0.7 |
32.6 |
14.4 |
0 |
8.3 |
0 |
2 |
Territory Grape Farm |
32.0 |
1.0 |
0 |
5 |
||||
Timber Creek |
32.4 |
-0.5 |
35.3 |
15.8 |
-0.3 |
8.1 |
0 |
0 |
Tindal RAAF |
31.8 |
-0.1 |
34.2 |
15.5 |
0 |
9.1 |
0 |
0 |
Victoria River Downs |
31.2 |
-0.7 |
34.9 |
13.1 |
-0.4 |
3.3 |
0 |
1 |
Warruwi |
29.7 |
+0.5 |
31.0 |
22.3 |
+0.6 |
21.0 |
1 |
1 |
Watarrka |
23.5 |
-1.0 |
30.2 |
8.9 |
+0.5 |
1.2 |
2 |
5 |
Wave Hill |
30.6 |
-0.6 |
34.7 |
13.3 |
+0.4 |
3.8 |
0 |
1 |
Wollogorang |
30.5 |
-0.7 |
33.1 |
13.2 |
+1.1 |
5.2 |
0 |
0 |
Yuendumu |
24.7 |
-0.3 |
31.8 |
8.1 |
-0.4 |
0.9 |
0 |
8 |
Yulara Aero |
22.9 |
-0.6 |
30.3 |
6.0 |
+0.1 |
-1.3 |
5 |
4 |
* indicates unconfirmed reports.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Friday 2 September 2005. Although every effort has been made to verify the data, it is possible that some figures will change as new information becomes available.
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
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