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Tuesday, 5 September 2006

MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - NORTHERN TERRITORY

August 2006 in the Territory – cool in the north

August 2006 was another cool and dry month in the northern parts of the Territory, perpetuating conditions that have persisted since May. In the dry inland parts of the Territory, night-time temperatures were generally near to below average, while day-time temperatures this August were 1-2oC warmer than normal. The largest anomalies were in the Alice Springs region. Little rain fell during August, though this is not unusual in what is typically a dry month. The dry August perpetuates an ongoing dry spell, particularly in the far southeast of the Territory, where 12-month rainfall figures are approaching the lowest 10% of historical values.

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


Extremes

Weather extremes during August 2006

Highest temperature
Hottest day
36.9 °C Douglas River AWS
Highest mean daily maximum temperature
Warmest days on average
33.1 °C Middle Point AWS
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature
Coolest days on average
23.8 °C Arltunga
Lowest daily maximum temperature
Coldest day
16.2 °C Papunya on the 28th
Lowest temperature
Coldest night
-2.5 °C Arltunga on the 19th
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature
Coldest nights on average
4.3 °C Arltunga
Highest mean daily minimum temperature
Warmest nights on average
21.4 °C Warruwi AWS
Highest daily minimum
Warmest night
23.5 °C Black Point on the 16th
Highest total rainfall
Wettest overall
6.8 mm Gove Airport
Highest daily rainfall
Wettest day
4.0 mm Alice Springs Airport on the 28th

Records

Record Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for August 2006


Mean daily maximum
temperature
(°C)
Previous highest Years of
record
Kulgera
24.4
24.1
in 1982
24
Watarrka
26.0
25.7
in 1995
16


Record Lowest Mean Maximum Temperature for August 2006


Mean daily maximum
temperature
(°C)
Previous lowest Years of
record
Katherine Aviation Museum
30.9
31.0
in 1994
21
Ngukurr
30.9
31.5
in 1963
13


Record Lowest Mean Maximum Temperature for May to August 2006


Mean daily maximum
temperature
(°C)
Previous lowest Years of
record
Larrimah
28.9
29.2
in 1977
36
Victoria River Downs
28.5
29.4
in 2000
31
Gove Airport
27.6
28.0
in 1971
25
Timber Creek
30.0
31.0
in 1982
24
Mango Farm
30.4
31.1
in 2000
22
Katherine Aviation Museum
29.4
30.5
in 2000
19
Wollogorang
28.7
29.5
in 2000
16
McArthur River Mine
29.7
29.8
in 1977
12
Borroloola AWS
29.4
29.8
in 1971
11
Douglas River
30.8
31.2
in 1968
11
Ngukurr
29.4
30.0
in 1963
11


Record Lowest Daily Maximum Temperature for May to August 2006


Lowest daily maximum
temperature
(°C)
Previous lowest Years of
record
Maningrida
22.0
on the 5th Jul
22.5
on the 20th May 1981
33


Record Lowest Mean Daily Minimum Temperature for May to August 2006


Mean daily minimum
temperature
(°C)
Previous lowest Years of
record
Tindal RAAF AWS
12.4
12.6
in 2002
18
Lajamanu AWS
8.7
9.0
in 2002
10


Summaries

Summary statistics for August 2006


Maximum temperatures
(°C)
Minimum temperatures
(°C)
Rainfall
(mm)
Mean Difference from normal Highest Mean Difference from normal Lowest Total Normal total
Ali Curung
27.6 +0.4 33.1 8.7 -0.5 3.5 0 4
Alice Springs Airport
24.5 +2.0 31.3 5.6 -0.4 0.8 4 10
Alyangula Police
28.6 -0.5 31.4 17.2 -0.9 13.3 0 1
Arltunga
23.8
30.6 4.3
-2.5 1 7
Batchelor Aero AWS
32.5
36.0 15.5
10.3 0
Black Point
30.2 -0.1 32.1 21.0 -0.4 18.7 0 2
Borroloola AWS
30.9 -0.7 34.9 11.5 -2.2 6.4 0
Brunette Downs
29.9 +0.4 33.9 11.4 -1.1 7.0 0 1
Centre Island AWS
27.8 0 31.3 19.0 -0.5 17.0 1 2
Channel Point
29.3 -0.3 34.9 17.3 -1.0 11.0 0 7
Curtin Springs
25.5 +2.7 32.6 5.9 +0.4 1.0 0 8
Daly Waters AWS
31.5 +0.6 35.6 9.8 -3.4 5.6 0 0
Darwin Airport
31.4 +0.1 34.8 18.9 -1.6 16.2 0 6
Delamere Weapons Range AWS
30.7
35.0 14.2
9.0 0
Douglas River
32.8 -0.7 36.9 12.8 -1.5 7.0 0 1
Gove Airport
28.0 -0.5 30.3 18.2 -1.0 12.1 7 5
Jabiru Airport AWS
32.8 -1.0 36.2 19.0 -0.1 13.9 0 4
Jervois
26.1 +1.1 32.8 7.9 +1.0 1.4 0 9
Katherine Aviation Museum
30.9 -1.5 35.0 12.4 -2.4 6.9 0 1
Kidman Springs
31.8 -1.1 35.7 11.8 -2.2 7.4 0 0
Kulgera
24.4 +2.5 33.0 7.8 +1.0 1.8 0 10
Lajamanu AWS
30.0 -0.1 35.0 9.4 -2.2 5.0 0 1
Larrimah


35.0

5.6 0 0
Mango Farm
32.3 -1.2 35.6 14.0 -2.0 9.0 0 3
Maningrida
30.5 -0.2 33.0 17.7 -0.1 13.0 0 0
McArthur River Mine


34.1

5.9 0 0
Ngukurr
30.9 -1.0 34.4 15.9 -0.1 11.3 0 0
Papunya
26.0
31.5 8.3
4.3 1 7
Pirlangimpi AWS
31.3 -0.5 34.3 18.8 -0.2 15.5 0 8
Point Fawcett AWS
29.9
33.0 16.6
11.9 0
Rabbit Flat
29.4
33.9 7.2
1.5 0
Tennant Creek Airport
27.6 +0.1 32.1 14.0 -0.5 9.5 0 2
Territory Grape Farm AWS
25.9 +0.7 31.7 6.0 -1.2 1.3 0 5
Timber Creek
32.3 -0.6 35.6 13.7 -2.4 9.8 0 0
Tindal RAAF AWS
31.5 -0.5 35.4 12.1 -3.5 6.8 0 0
Victoria River Downs
30.7 -1.2 34.9 10.3 -3.2 4.9 0 1
Warruwi AWS
28.8 -0.4 31.4 21.4 -0.3 18.7 0 1
Watarrka
26.0 +1.6 32.5 9.7 +1.3 2.5 0 5
Wave Hill
30.5 -0.6 34.7 10.1 -2.8 2.4 0 1
Wollogorang
30.2 -0.9 33.3 10.2 -1.9 5.4 0 0
Yuendumu
26.9 +1.9 32.2 7.7 -0.7 0.6 0 8
Yulara Aero AWS
25.0 +1.7 31.8 5.4 -0.5 1.1 0

Notes

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Tuesday 5 September. Although every effort has been made to verify the data, it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

* denotes that one or more observations missing, or that the data is unconfirmed

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

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