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MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY - NORTHERN TERRITORY
Relatively dry winds were the dominant feature of the Territory during October. This resulted in warmer than average temperatures in areas where the wind flow is typically of continental origin, namely inland and along the west coast. On the other hand, minimum temperatures across northern parts were well below normal, with Darwin setting a new record of 23.2oC for the lowest mean daily minimum temperature for October.
Rainfall was less than usual in this early build-up period, with most of the monthly precipitation falling over western parts. Long-term rainfall deficiencies persist over south-eastern parts of the Alice Springs District
A table of Territory extremes, some more details, some new records, and summaries for sites across the Territory appear below.
Weather extremes during October 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Highest temperature Hottest day |
41 °C |
Lajamanu AWS on the 29th | |
Highest mean daily maximum temperature Warmest days on average |
38.7 °C |
Bradshaw | |
Lowest mean daily maximum temperature Coolest days on average |
30.4 °C |
Gove Airport | |
Lowest daily maximum temperature Coldest day |
26.0 °C |
Kulgera on the 5th | |
Lowest temperature Coldest night |
9.9 °C |
Alice Springs Airport on the 11th | |
Lowest mean daily minimum temperature Coldest nights on average |
17.4 °C |
Alice Springs Airport and Arltunga and Yuendumu |
|
Highest mean daily minimum temperature Warmest nights on average |
24.7 °C |
Warruwi | |
Highest daily minimum Warmest night |
28.3 °C |
Kidman Springs on the 29th | |
Highest total rainfall Wettest overall |
61.5 mm |
Wagait Beach * | |
Highest daily rainfall Wettest day |
37.0 mm |
Wagait Beach * on the 3rd | |
Most of the rainfall for the month of October was recorded over the western Alice Springs and western Victoria River Districts, with falls in the range of 5 to 25 mm. Very localised falls in this range were also observed over the western Top End and Barkly District.
In terms of the October average, locations over the Top End and the eastern Gulf country recorded very much below average rainfall, mainly due to the persistent dry easterly trade wind flow that dominated this region during the month. Below average rainfall was recorded for the Barkly and northern and eastern Alice Springs District.
Some stations near Darwin recorded their lowest total monthly rainfall on record. The highest monthly rainfall of 61.5 mm occurred at Walgait Beach, located south of Darwin. A large proportion of this (37 mm) occurred with an afternoon shower on the third.
For the Territory as a whole, most of the rainfall fell during the latter part of the month. From a longer-term perspective (the past 12 months), significant deficiencies persist over south-eastern parts of the Alice Springs District.
October 2006 mean maximum temperatures were below average by up to 2C over the eastern Top End, Gulf Country and far northwestern Victoria River District. Elsewhere maximum temperatures were above average, with the eastern and central Alice Springs district recording mean temperatures 2-3oC above the average.
Alice Springs District maximum temperatures tended to corresponded well with the movement of high pressure systems across the south of the continent. Cooler southeasterly flow ahead (ie. on the eastern flank) of these highs would be followed by hot northerly flow at the rear (ie on the western flank) of these highs. Cooler maximum temperatures occurred from the 1 st to the 10 th, from the 20 th to the 22 nd and from the 27 th to the 31 st of the month. The hottest periods occurred between the 10 th and 19 th, and the 22 nd and 25 th, corresponding to maximum temperatures generally 4-6oC above the mean.
Towards the end of the month cloud cover and associated precipitation tended to keep the maximum temperatures down, especially over the western Alice Springs District.
Mean minimum temperatures for the month ranged from 21 to 25oC in the north, and a cooler 17 to 21oC over southern parts.
These minimum temperatures were 1-3oC below the long-term mean over the Top End and Gulf Country. Over southern and central parts of the Territory minimum temperatures were 1-3oC warmer than normal, and well above average (3-5 C) over the southwestern Alice Springs District.
Records for lowest mean daily minimum temperatures were broken for a number of locations over the Top End and Gulf Country, with Darwin recording its lowest October monthly mean minimum of 23.2 C.
These low minimum temperatures across northern parts were due to the relatively dry atmosphere combined with the absence of significant overnight cloud for much of the month.
Over the Alice Springs District, minimum temperatures were close to mean over the first 11 days of the month. Warmer periods occurred from the 13-20 th and from the 24-31 st , corresponding to episodes when cloud bands covered parts of the district.
Record Lowest Total Rainfall for October 2006 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall (mm) |
Previous lowest | Years of record |
||
Leanyer * |
6.4 |
8.6 |
in 1991 |
14 |
Ludmilla * |
4.8 |
10.4 |
in 2002 |
13 |
Batchelor Aero AWS |
0.0 |
1.0 |
in 1991 |
12 |
Thorak Cemetery * |
1.0 |
9.8 |
in 2002 |
12 |
CSIRO Berrimah * |
13.2 |
28.2 |
in 2002 |
10 |
Record Lowest Mean Maximum Temperature for October 2006 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest | Years of record |
||
Alyangula Police |
31.4 |
31.8 |
in 2000 |
20 |
Record Highest Temperature for October 2006 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Years of record |
||||
Channel Point |
36.1 |
on the 6th |
35.9 |
on the 9th in 2003 |
11 |
|
Record Highest Mean Daily Minimum Temperature for October 2006 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Years of record |
||
Curtin Springs |
18.2 |
16.5 |
in 2004 |
41 |
Kulgera |
17.7 |
17.3 |
in 2004 |
25 |
Watarrka |
20.1 |
19.6 |
in 2004 |
16 |
Record Lowest Mean Daily Minimum Temperature for October 2006 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest | Years of record |
||
Darwin Airport |
23.2 |
23.6 |
in 1982 |
65 |
Gove Airport |
19.5 |
19.8 |
in 1966 |
26 |
Wollogorang |
17.5 |
18.0 |
in 1974 |
23 |
Alyangula Police |
21.4 |
21.9 |
in 1995 |
20 |
Tindal RAAF AWS |
21.3 |
22.8 |
in 2000 |
18 |
Summary statistics for October 2006 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (mm) |
||||||
| Mean | Difference from normal | Highest | Mean | Difference from normal | Lowest | Total | Normal total | |
Ali Curung |
36.6 |
+1.6 |
39.0 |
20.3 |
+1.6 |
13.5 |
0 |
25 |
Alice Springs Airport |
33.6 |
+2.8 |
37.5 |
17.4 |
+2.7 |
9.9 |
10 |
22 |
Alyangula Police |
31.4 |
-1.5 |
32.6 |
21.4 |
-2.0 |
18.8 |
0 |
27 |
Arltunga |
32.9 |
36.3 |
17.4 |
10.1 |
0 |
23 |
||
Batchelor Aero AWS |
37.2 |
+0.4 |
39.7 |
21.2 |
-1.8 |
18.7 |
0 |
68 |
Black Point |
32.0 |
-0.6 |
33.1 |
23.6 |
-1.0 |
20.6 |
0 |
13 |
Borroloola AWS |
34.7 |
-1.9 |
39.6 |
19.5 |
-2.3 |
15.8 |
0 |
17 |
Bradshaw |
38.7 |
40.3 |
24.5 |
22.2 |
0 |
|||
Brunette Downs |
38.0 |
+1.4 |
40.5 |
21.8 |
+1.2 |
16.5 |
1 |
15 |
Cape Don AWS |
31.6 |
34.1 |
24.1 |
23.4 |
0 |
19 |
||
Centre Island AWS |
31.9 |
-1.1 |
35.2 |
23.9 |
-1.0 |
22.6 |
0 |
10 |
Channel Point |
36.1 |
19.5 |
1 |
67 |
||||
Curtin Springs |
33.9 |
+2.4 |
38.5 |
18.2 |
+4.1 |
12.5 |
8 |
18 |
Daly Waters AWS |
38.1 |
+1.0 |
40.7 |
18.5 |
-2.8 |
13.6 |
0 |
23 |
Darwin Airport |
33.6 |
+0.4 |
35.9 |
23.2 |
-1.8 |
21.3 |
1.8 |
70.4 |
Delamere Weapons Range AWS |
37.0 |
-0.2 |
39.0 |
22.1 |
-1.9 |
18.0 |
0 |
|
Douglas River |
38.1 |
+0.9 |
40.1 |
20.3 |
-2.0 |
16.5 |
0 |
40 |
Dum In Mirrie AWS |
32.1 |
35.5 |
23.6 |
20.8 |
7 |
77 |
||
Elliott |
40.4 |
14.5 |
2 |
25 |
||||
Gove Airport |
30.4 |
-1.4 |
34.3 |
19.5 |
-2.1 |
17.0 |
0 |
7 |
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS |
33.6 |
35.1 |
18.0 |
15.3 |
0 |
|||
Jabiru Airport AWS |
37.3 |
-0.3 |
39.7 |
22.1 |
-1.8 |
19.1 |
0 |
39 |
Jervois |
35.4 |
+2.3 |
38.6 |
18.1 |
+2.7 |
10.3 |
4 |
17 |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
37.1 |
-0.7 |
39.6 |
21.4 |
-2.6 |
16.2 |
0 |
37 |
Kidman Springs |
38.2 |
-0.4 |
39.8 |
22.0 |
-1.7 |
15.5 |
0 |
27 |
Kulgera |
32.2 |
+2.1 |
38.8 |
17.7 |
+2.9 |
12.2 |
5 |
21 |
Lajamanu AWS |
38.1 |
+1.1 |
41.0 |
20.3 |
-0.1 |
14.0 |
8 |
23 |
Larrimah |
36.9 |
-0.5 |
39.9 |
20.2 |
-2.1 |
15.1 |
0 |
28 |
Mango Farm |
37.7 |
+0.3 |
40.5 |
20.8 |
-1.6 |
18.7 |
7 |
42 |
Maningrida |
31.5 |
-1.2 |
32.7 |
21.0 |
-2.0 |
18.8 |
0 |
13 |
McArthur River Mine |
37.1 |
-0.9 |
40.6 |
19.9 |
-0.9 |
16.3 |
0 |
20 |
McCluer Island AWS |
28.9 |
30.8 |
25.3 |
24.0 |
0 |
10 |
||
Ngayawili AWS |
32.0 |
33.6 |
20.5 |
18.4 |
2 |
|||
Ngukurr |
36.3 |
-1.3 |
40.5 |
21.2 |
-1.2 |
18.5 |
0 |
13 |
Oenpelli |
38.9 |
16.1 |
0 |
26 |
||||
Papunya |
35.2 |
38.1 |
19.2 |
14.0 |
25 |
18 |
||
Pirlangimpi AWS |
33.5 |
+0.3 |
35.5 |
22.1 |
-0.9 |
20.3 |
3 |
83 |
Point Fawcett AWS |
32.1 |
33.9 |
21.1 |
18.8 |
13 |
60 |
||
Rabbit Flat |
37.5 |
+0.2 |
40.3 |
17.9 |
-1.3 |
10.2 |
0 |
|
Tennant Creek Airport |
36.1 |
+1.4 |
38.7 |
22.7 |
+1.0 |
18.8 |
8 |
21 |
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
37.3 |
11.1 |
3 |
21 |
||||
Timber Creek |
38.5 |
+0.3 |
40.1 |
22.0 |
-2.2 |
15.5 |
20 |
22 |
Tindal RAAF AWS |
37.3 |
-0.1 |
40.0 |
21.3 |
-3.2 |
16.7 |
0 |
40 |
Victoria River Downs |
37.6 |
-0.1 |
39.2 |
21.1 |
-1.3 |
15.2 |
0 |
18 |
Warruwi |
30.9 |
-1.6 |
32.9 |
24.7 |
-0.6 |
22.5 |
0 |
12 |
Watarrka |
34.6 |
+1.9 |
38.1 |
20.1 |
+3.1 |
15.8 |
16 |
28 |
Wave Hill |
37.7 |
+0.2 |
39.2 |
21.4 |
-0.2 |
15.5 |
15 |
32 |
Wollogorang |
35.7 |
-1.2 |
40.2 |
17.5 |
-2.4 |
12.0 |
0 |
23 |
Yuendumu |
35.2 |
+2.3 |
37.5 |
17.5 |
+0.5 |
12.2 |
7 |
19 |
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Friday 3 November. 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
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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