Wednesday, 4 January 2012 - Annual Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC22R0

Northern Territory in 2011: A year of extremes

• 3rd wettest year on record for the NT
• Coolest year since 1976
• Darwin Airport
• 2nd wettest year on record
• Tied coolest mean minimum temperature on record
• 96 nights below 20 °C
• Coolest dry season nights on record
• Alice Springs
• A few very hot days
• Overall, cooler than average

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Overview

The Northern Territory had a very eventful year from tropical cyclones to severe bushfires, record heat waves in January to record cool streaks in June. Several new monthly and seasonal records were set around the Territory this year including the coldest May day, the wettest day and the most nights below 20 °C. Darwin Airport, Gove, Jabiru and Tennant Creek all had their 2nd wettest year on record.

Tropical Cyclone Carlos

TC Carlos formed over the Beagle Gulf early on 16 February and moved very slowly southeast over Darwin and the surrounding rural area. This contributed further rainfall to the already wet conditions. TC Carlos was downgraded to a tropical low on the morning of 17 February, near Batchelor. Ex-TC Carlos then tracked southwards over the western Top End reaching the WA/NT border on 19 February. Very heavy rainfall associated with TC Carlos broke many rainfall records in the region. The heavy rain had a major impact on Darwin and surrounding areas, causing widespread flooding of low lying areas, inundating many houses and damaging roads and properties. Flooding of coastal areas was exacerbated by some of the largest astronomical tides of the year.

Squally winds with gusts reaching 98 km/h lashed the Darwin area during the night of the 15th and again on the 16th, felling trees and power lines, cutting roads and damaging properties. Most government departments, schools and businesses were closed for two days during the event. Darwin Airport was also closed during the worst weather conditions on 16 February. Ex-TC Carlos caused widespread flooding elsewhere in the Darwin-Daly District, including a major flood in the Daly River, inundating the community of Nauiyu about 150 km south of Darwin.

Dry conditions led to NT bushfires

Following a record wet season, the whole Northern Territory experienced several dry months during the middle of the year. The Alice Springs District usually gets between 55 mm and 70 mm in the May through September period from frontal passages along the southern border. This season, however, persistent high pressure over central Australia prevented most of the cold fronts from moving into the Territory. Several locations, including Alice Springs Airport, did not receive any rainfall in August or September. By the end of the dry season Alice Springs Airport had recorded only 17.6 mm. This is only 27% of their average and marks the third driest May through September period on record. In these especially dry conditions the once-lush biota became ample fuel for bushfires across the NT.

In addition to a high fuel load, dry and gusty southeast winds raised the fire danger index (FDI) across the Territory. The FDI reached "catastrophic" levels 9 times in the NT during this years dry season. Significant fires were reported in every month of the dry season; August and September were especially bad in the Top End and throughout the Red Centre. A total of 22 fire ban days were issued by fire authorities during August and September for various Fire Protection Zones across the Territory. Several thousands of square kilometers burned across the Territory but especially around the Alice Springs area. Local media at Alice Springs reported that an area greater than Tasmania was burned by bushfires.

Tropical Cyclone Grant

On 21 December, a surface low was identified to the north of the Cobourg Peninsula by satellite observations. The system lacked persistent deep convection and did not develop to tropical cyclone strength for several days. Overnight on 24 December further development occurred and TC Grant was named at 3:30 on Christmas morning, Sunday, 25 December.

Gusts to 63 km/h were first observed at McCluer Island around 4am on the 25th and mean winds of 63 km/h were observed about six hours later. These winds steadily increased and around noon on the 25th storm force winds of 92 km/h gusting to 110 km/h were reported at McCluer Island. TC Grant then moved in a south southwest direction along the coast over the far eastern Van Diemen Gulf. It was weakening, but maintained as a Category 2 system until early on the 26th. Around dawn on the 26th it crossed the coast again at the southeastern corner of the Van Diemen Gulf as a Category 1 system. By mid-day on the 26th it was downgraded to below TC strength. The storm moved east, crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria, but did not reform into a tropical cyclone.

TC Grant caused intense rainfall and flash flooding, washing away roads and railway lines in the Top End.

Rainfall

TC Carlos dumped record rainfall at Darwin Airport

In the 24 hour period to 9 am on 16 February, as Tropical Storm Carlos moved slowly over the Darwin area, Darwin Airport recorded 367.6 mm of rain, which is a new record for the airport. The previous highest 24 hour rainfall for Darwin Airport was recorded on 3 January 1997, when Tropical Cyclone Rachel brought 290.4 mm of rain to Darwin. The 3-day total (15 to 17 February 2011) was 684.8 mm, breaking the previous 3-day record set between 8 and 10 December 1998, when Tropical Cyclone Thelma brought 462.0 mm of rain (see Special Climate Statement 29). The monthly rainfall total for February at Darwin Airport was 1110.2 mm, becoming the wettest of any month on record, passing the March 1977 total of 1013.6 mm.

Overall, a very wet year

The average rainfall across the NT in 2011 was 970.3 mm, which is 430.5 mm above average and the 3rd wettest year on record. The exceptionally wet year is likely the direct result of back-to-back La Niña events in the Pacific, and a few single very wet events, like TC Carlos and TC Grant, which added to the overall rainfall total. By the end of the year Darwin Airport had 2693.0 mm of rain, which is their 2nd wettest year on record after 1998 (2776.69 mm).

The wettest locations overall in the NT were Lake Evella with 3866.6 mm followed by Territory Wildlife Park with 3061.2 mm, which marks the first times on record that any station has exceeded 3 metres of rainfall in a calendar year (both totals exceed the previous NT annual rainfall record which was 2953.2 at Channel Point in 2000). The third wettest location this year was at Majestic Orchids with 2924.3 mm. There were also many other sites had their highest total rainfall on record.

The wettest single day was at Edith Falls Ridge with 385.0 mm on 27 December followed by Darwin Airport with 367.6 mm on 16 February. Many sites had their highest daily rainfall on record, including Darwin Airport, Palmerston, Territory Wildlife Park and Middle Point.

The driest overall was Bond Springs Turnoff with 122.0 mm, followed by Upper Bond Springs with 289.0 mm, and then Watarrka with 308.7 mm.

Temperature

This years mean temperature across the Territory was 24.2 °C, which is 1.02 °C below average for the NT and ranks as the 7th coolest mean temperature on record.

The warmest on average was Jabiru Airport with 27.9 °C, followed by North East Island and Warruwi both with 27.3 °C, followed by Darwin Airport with 27.0 °C. The coolest on average was Arltunga with 19.5 °C, followed by Alice Springs Airport with 20.4 °C, and then Kulgera with 20.6 °C.

Maximum temperature

Yulara heat wave

On January 27th, Yulara broke its highest temperature record when it reached a daytime maximum temperature of 46.3 °C, only to break this record again the following day with 46.4 °C. This new record falls just 1.9 °C shy of the all time Northern Territory maximum temperature record set on January 1st 1960 with 48.3 °C at Fink Post Office. January was also Yulara's hottest month on record with an average maximum temperature of 40.9 °C, which surpasses the previous record of 40.8 °C set in February 2007. Furthermore, Yulara measured 17 consecutive days above 40 °C including 11 consecutive days above 42 °C, which are both record longest hot spells of that magnitude. The dates of this hot spell were from January 14th to the 30th, inclusive.

Low maximum temperatures on average

When averaged across the Territory this years mean maximum temperature was 30.8 °C, which is 1.1 °C below average and and is the coolest year since 1976 in terms of maximum temperature. Every month saw below average temperatures except for July and August, which were above average and January, September, and October which were very near the average temperature.

Even with below average maximum temperatures for most of the year, there were a few very hot days across the Territory. The hottest days were at Yulara Aero with 46.4 °C on 28 January, and 46.3 °C on 27 January. Walungurru had the next hottest day with 46.2 °C on 28 January.

The warmest days on average were at Bradshaw with 33.9 °C, followed by Timber Creek with 33.7 °C, Noonamah with 33.6 °C, and then Jabiru Airport with 33.5 °C.

The coolest days on average were at Arltunga with 27.6 °C, followed by Kulgera with 28.2 °C, and then Alice Springs Airport with 28.5 °C.

The coldest day was at Kulgera where the maximum temperature only got to 10.2 °C on 13 July, followed by Alice Springs Airport which had 10.5 °C on 14 July, and then Arltunga with 10.8 °C on 9 Jun and Curtin Springs which also had 10.8 °C on 13 July.

Some sites had their lowest mean daily maximum temperature on record including Larrimah, Alyangula Police, and Batchelor.

Minimum temperature

Plenty of cool nights in the Top End

Darwin Airport recorded 96 nights below 20 °C, 94 of which occurred during the dry season months of May through September. This included every night in June which marks the first time since records began that June had 30 nights below 20 °C. In an average year the overnight temperature will drop below 20 °C about 50 times. The previous highest number nights below 20 °C was 93 nights set in 1976. The coolest night this year was on June 14th when the mercury fell to 12.7 °C. This was the coolest night since 27 June 2008. The record coolest night in Darwin still stands at 10.4 °C set on 29 July 1942.

With a mean daily minimum temperature of 22.3 °C, 0.9 °C below its normal, Darwin Airport tied its lowest mean daily minimum temperature on record. Timber Creek also tied their record coolest year with 20.0 °C, 1.1 °C below average for them. Daly Waters set a new record for minimum temperatures with an annual average of 17.2 °C; this is 0.7 °C cooler than their previous record set in 2006.

Arltunga breaks 113 year old record in May

On 28 May the minimum temperature at Arltunga dropped to -3.8 °C breaking the long-held Northern Territory record for the coldest May minimum temperature of -3.0 °C set at Alice Springs Post Office on 27 May 1898. This new record was then broken again on the 31 May when the minimum temperature at Arltunga dropped to -4.2 °C. While not an all-time record, Arltunga felt the coldest temperature this year with -6.1 °C on 25 July 2011. The record lowest temperature in the NT still stands at -7.5 °C set at Alice Springs Airport on 17 July 1976.

Minimum temperatures were cool in NT

When averaged across the Territory, minimum temperatures were among the coolest on record. The average minimum temperature for 2011 in the NT was 17.6 °C. This is 0.87 °C below average and the coolest since 1976. The three coldest nights were all at Arltunga with -6.1 °C on 25 July, -6.0 °C on 24 July, and then -5.0 °C on 1 Jun. It is no surprise then that the coolest nights on average were at Arltunga with an annual average minimum temperature of 11.5 °C. Alice Springs Airport was the second coolest with 12.4 °C followed by Kulgera with 13.1 °C.

The warmest nights on average were at North East Island where the average annual minimum temperature was 24.5 °C, followed by Warruwi with 23.7 °C, and then Centre Island with 23.1 °C.

The warmest single night this year was at Papunya on 28 January when the minimum temperature was 31.6 °C. The next warmest night was at Walungurru with 30.9 °C on 28 January.

Wind

The strongest wind gusts around the Territory this year was at McCluer Island with 126 km/h on 25 December from TC Grant, followed by Rabbit Flat with 107 km/h on 11 December. Darwin Airport measured 98 km/h on 15 February as pre-TC Carlos moved over. Tennant Creek Airport also measured a maximum wind gust of 98 km/h on 15 October, and Daly Waters had a gust of 98 km/h on 24 October. The next strongest gust was Walungurru with 96 km/h on 28 January.

Further information

Media

media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057

Enquiries

helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au

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Extremes in 2011
Hottest day	46.4 °C at Yulara Aero on 28 Jan
Warmest days on average	33.9 °C at Bradshaw
Coolest days on average	27.6 °C at Arltunga
Coldest day	10.2 °C at Kulgera on 13 Jul
Coldest night	-6.1 °C at Arltunga on 25 Jul
Coolest nights on average	11.5 °C at Arltunga
Warmest nights on average	24.5 °C at North East Island
Warmest night	31.6 °C at Papunya on 28 Jan
Warmest on average overall	27.9 °C at Jabiru Airport
Coolest on average overall	19.5 °C at Arltunga
Wettest overall	3866.6 mm at Lake Evella
Driest overall	122.0 mm at Bond Springs Turnoff
Wettest day	385.0 mm at Edith Falls Ridge on 27 Dec
Highest wind gust	126 km/h at McCluer Island on 25 Dec

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Record highest annual daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in 2011 (mm)		Previous annual wettest		Years of record
Darwin Airport	367.6	on 16 Feb	290.4	on 3 Jan 1997	71
The Garden	134.6	on 8 Mar	134.4	on 29 Jan 1974	58
Berrimah Research Farm	245.2	on 16 Feb	222.0	on 16 Mar 1977	49
Channel Island	313.2	on 16 Feb	290.2	on 13 Dec 2009	41
Kalala	155.0	on 20 Nov	138.0	on 22 Apr 2000	34
Atula	119.6	on 22 Feb	119.2	on 28 Feb 2010	33
Nightcliff Sports Club	280.0	on 16 Feb	259.8	on 16 Mar 1977	33
Mango Farm	230.2	on 18 Feb	218.4	on 14 Apr 1985	32
Palmerston	300.0	on 16 Feb	295.7	on 3 Jan 1997	29
Stokes Hill	288.4	on 16 Feb	273.6	on 13 Dec 2009	27
Wagait Beach	367.0	on 16 Feb	279.2	on 3 Mar 2007	24
Leanyer*	344.2	on 16 Feb	271.4	on 3 Jan 1997	23
Territory Wildlife Park	327.0	on 17 Feb	260.0	on 10 Dec 1998	21
Top Springs Roadhouse	111.0	on 25 Jan	110.0	on 28 Jan 2006	21
Lake Evella	196.0	on 22 Mar	135.0	on 22 Dec 2003	19
Kalkarindji	258.2	on 23 Mar	156.4	on 24 Dec 2003	17
Point Fawcett	265.2	on 16 Feb	223.8	on 20 Dec 2008	17
Beeboom Crossing	203.5	on 18 Feb	183.5	on 5 Jan 2008	16
Delamere Weapons Range	156.4	on 8 Feb	143.0	on 26 Feb 2003	15
East Arm	330.0	on 16 Feb	131.5	on 20 Feb 2008	15
Wongalara	185.0	on 28 Mar	171.4	on 7 Apr 2001	13
Rankin Point	260.0	on 15 Feb	235.0	on 13 Dec 2009	12
Seventeen Mile Creek	184.5	on 27 Dec	144.0	on 3 Mar 2004	12
Wigley Gorge	65.0	on 9 Jan	61.0	on 28 Feb 2010	12
Middle Point	142.0	on 15 Feb	112.4	on 31 Dec 2006	11

* On 16 Feb the this raingauge overflowed. The recorded amount represents an underestimate of the actual rainfall on that day.

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Record highest total annual rainfall
	Total rainfall for 2011 (mm)	Previous annual wettest		Years of record	Annual average
Oenpelli	2270.5	2203.9	in 1981	90	1406.5
Bradshaw Homestead	2000.6	1469.5	in 2010	61	919.1
Daly Waters	1182.2	1112.4	in 2004	41	664.7
Centre Island	1955.6	1794.4	in 2010	40	1042.7
Cdu Katherine Rural Campus	1698.4	1652.8	in 2003	38	1096.1
Darwin River Dam	2642.6	2298.6	in 1998	36	1642.5
McArthur River Mine	1535.1	1430.2	in 2003	34	755.6
Timber Creek	1450.5	1410.3	in 2000	30	958.7
Mango Farm	2306.1	1991.1	in 2008	29	1434.5
Jindare	2028.5	1825.5	in 2010	28	1214.9
Nightcliff Sports Club	2590.3	2516.0	in 1977	23	1859.0
Stokes Hill	2421.2	2043.2	in 1977	21	1596.2
Leanyer*	2591.0	2509.0	in 1998	19	1870.3
Northlakes*	2662.0	2425.5	in 1995	15	1879.7
Acacia, Mocatto Road	2533.7	2290.9	in 1998	13	1851.7
Batchelor Aero	2204.4	2129.8	in 2001	13	1639.4
Bing Bong Port	2033.9	1780.4	in 2006	12	1167.2
Territory Wildlife Park	3061.2	2264.3	in 1997	12	1809.0
Geriatric Park	2880.4	2759.4	in 1998	10	2368.8
Middle Point	1934.8	1827.4	in 2006	10	1462.5

* On 16 Feb the this raingauge overflowed. The recorded amount represents an underestimate of the actual rainfall.




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Record lowest annual daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in 2011 (°C)		Previous annual coolest		Years of record	Annual average
Point Fawcett	23.4	on 13 Jun	24.0	on 12 Jun 2000	13	31.5
Groote Eylandt Airport	21.4	on 11 Jun	21.5	on 17 Aug 2007	11	32.1




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Record lowest annual mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for 2011 (°C)	Previous annual coolest		Years of record	Annual average
Larrimah	32.4	32.6	in 2000	42	33.9
Tennant Creek Airport	30.2	= 30.2	in 1974	40	31.9
Wave Hill	32.3	= 32.3	in 1974	35	34.2
Timber Creek	33.7	34.0	in 2000	29	34.9
Alyangula Police	30.5	30.6	in 2000	27	31.5
Tindal RAAF	32.7	= 32.7	in 2000	21	33.8
Douglas River	33.1	33.4	in 2006	16	34.3
Borroloola	32.5	= 32.5	in 2000	15	33.8
Ngukurr	32.9	33.6	in 1965	13	34.3
Delamere Weapons Range	32.2	32.9	in 2000	12	33.8
Lajamanu	32.2	32.3	in 2000	12	33.6
Batchelor Aero	32.5	33.1	in 2000	10	33.8
Groote Eylandt Airport	31.5	= 31.5	in 2000	10	32.1




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Record lowest annual temperature
	Lowest temperature in 2011 (°C)		Previous annual coolest		Years of record	Annual average
Point Fawcett	8.2	on 15 Jun	9.2	on 30 Jun 2007	13	22.8
Dum In Mirrie	10.0	on 15 Jun	10.7	on 26 Jul 2008	12	23.2
Ngayawili	10.5	on 15 Jun	11.6	on 26 Jul 2008	11	22.7




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Record lowest annual mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for 2011 (°C)	Previous annual coolest		Years of record	Annual average
Darwin Airport	22.3	= 22.3	in 1976	67	23.2
Larrimah	18.0	18.3	in 1967	41	19.7
Daly Waters	17.2	17.9	in 2006	37	19.3
Timber Creek	20.0	= 20.0	in 2008	28	21.1
Borroloola	18.4	19.1	in 2006	15	19.7
Delamere Weapons Range	19.7	19.9	in 1999	12	20.8
Lajamanu	16.5	17.1	in 2006	12	17.9
Territory Grape Farm	13.6	13.7	in 1997	12	14.6





Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Month by month
January experienced a record heat wave that hit Yulara and others in the Alice Springs District while a monsoon trough drizzled steadily across the Top End. On the 27th, Yulara broke its highest temperature record when it reached a daytime maximum temperature of 46.3 ° C, only to break this record again the following day with 46.4 ° C. Between the 14th and the 30th of the month, there were 17 consecutive days above 40 ° C including 11 consecutive days above 42 ° C. Darwin measured 26 rain days during the month, with 23 of these falling consecutively between the 4th and the 26th.
Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
February was marked by Tropical Cyclone Carlos which formed over Darwin on the 16th. It was a notably slow moving storm which broke several rainfall records around the Darwin area. Darwin Airport recorded 367.6 mm of rain in the 24 hour period to 9 am on 16 February which is the wettest day on record. Darwin Airport also measured the coolest February day on record when the maximum temperature only reached 24.8 on the 15th.
March saw several rainfall records broken. Nine sites had their wettest March on record including Brunette Downs, McArthur River Mine and Rabbit Flat. Darwin Airport was among several sites that surpassed their previous wet season rainfall record in March. Also, thick cloud cover kept daily maximum temperatures low.
April began with heavy rains and gusty storms across the Top End with several stations exceeding their previous record April rainfall within the first week of the month. The following weeks showed signs of the approaching dry season with cooler nights and fewer storms.
May saw sub-zero temperatures come early to Alice Springs with 5 consecutive days below zero setting a record for the most consecutive May days below freezing. Arltunga set a new NT minimum temperature record for May with -4.2 °C on the 31st. Darwin also saw record cool nights.
June was the coldest on record for minimum temperatures across the NT. Darwin dropped below the 20 °C every night of the month for the first time since records began in 1941. Alice Springs also experienced below average night-time temperatures throughout June, enduring 10 nights in a row below 1 °C.
July was the first month since October 2010 that Darwin Airport measured above average mean maximum temperatures. Rainfall was near average for a dry season month with the far south-western Alice Springs and the eastern Arnhem districts being the only places that measured any rain for the month.
August night-time temperatures were below average across most of the Northern Territory, daytime temperatures were slightly warmer than the month before. On 29 August, Darwin Airport had a maximum temperature of 34.8 °C was the warmest day to that point this year. Fog was observed at Darwin Airport on five days in August. And Below average rainfall fell across the NT except for along the Gulf of Carpentaria.
September experienced extreme fire weather across Territory, several fire bans were imposed by fire authorities throughout the month. Several thousands of square kilometers burned around the Alice Springs area. Minimum temperatures were below average for most of the month, the Darwin Area enjoyed 5 nights below 20 °C.
October had a dry start but weather systems in the second half of the month led to above average rainfall across most of the NT. Overall, temperatures across the Territory were above average.
November 2011 ranks 4th wettest on record. The average rainfall across the NT during November was 87.5 mm, well above the monthly average of 39.5 mm. Except for a few locations along the north coast, including Darwin, most of the Territory experienced below average temperatures for the month.
In December Tropical Cyclone Grant brought heavy rains to the eastern Top End. Gove and Jabiru both recorded their wettest December on record while Darwin Airport and Alice Springs had below average rainfall.
Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank

Click on the month to read the full monthly summary

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Summary statistics for 2011
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for 2011	Diff from average	Highest for 2011		Mean for 2011	Diff from average	Lowest for 2011		Total for 2011	Average annual total	Rank of 2011	Fraction of annual average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Aero	32.5	-1.2	38.6	18 Oct	20.6	-0.5	8.0	16 Jun	2204.4	1639.4	v high	134%
Darwin Airport	31.6	-0.4	35.8	27 Nov	22.3	-0.9	12.7	14 Jun	2686.0	1729.4	v high	155%
Delamere Weapons Range	32.2	-1.5	40.4	11 Oct	19.7	-1.1	6.6	18 Jun	1174.0	904.7	high	130%
Douglas River	33.1	-1.1	40.6	12 Oct	19.4	-0.4	4.1	16 Jun
Jabiru Airport	33.5	-0.8	39.2	31 Oct	22.3	-0.3	10.7	14 Jun	2463.6	1576.2	v high	156%
Middle Point AWS	33.2	-0.9	39.8	14 Oct	19.8	-0.8	6.3	17 Jun	1934.8	1462.5	v high	132%
Noonamah AWS	33.6		39.3	20 Oct	20.2		8.4	20 Jun	2667.4
Port Keats Aero	32.3	-0.7	38.9	25 Dec	21.2	-0.7	8.6	14 Jun	1604.6	1186.7	high	135%
Tindal RAAF	32.7	-1.0	40.7	12 Oct	19.6	-0.9	6.0	15 Jun	1162.4	1123.4	average	103%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Alyangula Police	30.5	-0.9	37.2	12 Oct			11.5	13 Jun	1628.4	1227.6	high	133%
Gove Airport	30.7	+0.1	37.6	11 Dec	22.0	-0.4	13.1	11 Aug	2167.0	1469.9	v high	147%
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS	31.5	-0.6	39.1	11 Oct	20.3	-0.4	7.1	14 Jun	1636.8	1415.2	average	116%
Ngayawili	31.1	-0.3	36.7	27 Nov	22.6	-0.2	10.5	15 Jun	1820.6	1581.1	high	115%
North East Island	30.1		35.7	16 Dec	24.5		19.7	13 Jun	1779.2	860.8	v high	207%
Warruwi	30.9	-0.3	36.3	15 Oct	23.7	-0.6	15.5	15 Jun
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola	32.5	-1.2	40.7	11 Oct	18.4	-1.3	4.6	13 Jun	1594.6	935.7	high	170%
Centre Island	30.3	-0.9	38.2	14 Oct	23.1	-0.7	13.2	11 Jun	1955.6	1042.7	highest	188%
Daly Waters AWS	32.4	-1.4	41.7	12 Oct	17.2	-2.0	2.0	14 Jun	1182.2	664.7	highest	178%
Larrimah	32.4	-1.5	41.2	11 Oct	18.0	-1.7	3.4	13 Jun	1292.7	851.9	v high	152%
McArthur River Mine	33.3	-1.2	41.6	11 Oct	19.1	-0.5	4.8	19 Jun	1535.1	755.6	highest	203%
Ngukurr	32.9	-1.3	42.3	11 Oct			9.5	15 Jun	1437.8	774.1	v high	186%
Wollogorang	32.3	-1.4	40.3	11 Oct	17.9	-1.0	4.1	18 Jun	1066.5	965.3	average	110%
Victoria (district 14F)
Lajamanu	32.2	-1.3	42.6	30 Jan	16.5	-1.4	1.7	14 Jun	853.6	506.4	high	169%
Timber Creek	33.7	-1.2	43.6	12 Oct	20.0	-1.2	6.0	19 Jun	1450.5	958.7	highest	151%
Victoria River Downs	33.1	-1.3	42.9	12 Oct	18.2	-1.4	3.9	15 Jun	979.4	647.9	v high	151%
Wave Hill	32.3	-1.9	42.3	11 Oct	17.7	-1.2	2.8	2 Jun	872.7	698.8	high	125%
Barkly (district 15A)
Tennant Creek Airport	30.2	-1.7	41.1	27 Jan	18.4	-1.4	5.7	11 Jun	924.0	474.3	v high	195%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	28.5	-0.2	43.0	27 Jan	12.4	-0.8	-3.4	15 Jun	366.4	284.7	high	129%
Arltunga	27.6	-1.0	40.6	10 Dec	11.5	-2.0	-6.1	25 Jul	566.8	298.3	v high	190%
Curtin Springs	29.4	-0.2	45.5	28 Jan			-1.0	24 Jul	370.3	238.8	high	155%
Kulgera	28.2	-0.1	44.9	28 Jan	13.1	-0.8	-2.1	30 May	345.7	257.2	high	134%
Rabbit Flat	32.1	-1.6	44.1	30 Jan	15.5	-1.2	0.7	16 Jun	753.1	498.4	high	151%
Territory Grape Farm	30.1	-0.6	43.5	27 Jan	13.6	-0.9	-2.1	1 Jun	382.2	326.0	high	117%
Walungurru	31.8		46.2	28 Jan	18.3		4.7	13 Jun	368.6
Yulara Aero	29.1	-0.8	46.4	28 Jan	13.6	-0.4	-0.7	16 Jun	574.8	292.1	high	197%

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Notes

al Climate Summary is prepared to list the main features of the weather in Northern Territory using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. Later information, including data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review, usually published in the fourth week of the month.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 8 am on Wednesday 4 January 2012. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

Averages are long-term means based on observations from the years 1800 to 2009. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record in that time, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site, based on the decile ranking (very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

Further information

Media

media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057

Enquiries

helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au

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