Monday 14 January 2007

CLIMATE SUMMARY - NT REGIONAL OFFICE

Darwin's 5th wettest day

On the morning of Sunday 13 January Darwin Airport recorded its second highest January daily rainfall total on record, and its 5th wettest day overall. It was the highest daily rainfall total since 244mm recorded when Tropical Cyclone Thelma was nearby in December 1998. Most of this rain fell in just a few hours from about 2am Saturday night in an unusually intense downpour. A rainfall total of 242mm was recorded in the rain gauge for the 24 hours to 9am. Darwin Airport was the highest reading of the real-time reporting stations in the area, with figures around the suburbs generally around 150 to 200mm.

Previously, the highest daily rainfall recorded at Darwin Airport is 290.4mm on 3 January 1997, which was associated with Tropical Cyclone Rachel. In fact each of the four higher daily rainfall events were associated with a tropical cyclone, or low pressure system that later developed into a cyclone. By contrast, this event was associated with a coincidence of more subtle upper atmospheric features that allowed it to occur.

Note
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Monday 14 January 2008.

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 free from this web site.

Climate and Consultative Services
Northern Territory Regional Office
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au