Tuesday, 31 January 2023 - Annual Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC52R0

Northern Territory in 2022: warm across the Top End

It was warm across the Top End in 2022, with both daytime and night-time temperatures well above the long-term average. Temperatures were close to average in southern areas of the Northern Territory. A very wet October to December period resulted in above average annual rainfall for the Northern Territory overall.

Wetter than average overall

• The Northern Territory area-average rainfall for 2022 was 613.2 mm, 12% above the 1961–1990 average and the wettest year since 2017.
• Rainfall was above average for the southern two-thirds, and north-western coast of the Northern Territory, but parts of Arnhem Land and the Carpentaria District had below average rainfall.
• On 12 January, Tropical Cyclone Tiffany crossed the eastern Top End coast near Port Roper, bringing moderate to locally heavy falls over the following week and impacting major roads and railways.
• Maranboy Hill had its highest daily rainfall on record on 13 January.
• An absence of monsoon burst activity saw the Northern Territory have its driest March since 2009, and the ninth-driest on record since 1900.
• The lack of monsoon burst activity in the second half of the 2021–22 wet season (February to April) resulted in serious rainfall deficiencies (totals in the lowest 10% of years since 1900) for much of the Barkly and Gregory Districts.
• Cloud bands crossed the Northern Territory in each month from June to September, bringing unseasonal widespread moderate rainfall.
• It was the wettest October since 2010, the fifth-wettest November on record, and the seventh-wettest December on record.
• The October to December period was the wettest such period for the Northern Territory since 2000, and the third-wettest on record.
• The Northern Rainfall Onset threshold (50 mm of rainfall since 1 September) was reached 1 to 2 months earlier than usual in many areas.
• There were frequent thunderstorms and showers across the Northern Territory in October and November, while Tropical Cyclone Ellie crossed the western Top End coast shortly before midnight on 22 December, bringing heavy rain to northern and central areas.
• At Darwin Airport the monsoon onset was observed on 22 December, about a week earlier than the long-term average but typical during a La Niña year.

Warm across the Top End, cooler in the south

• For the Top End mean maximum and minimum temperatures in 2022 were very much above average (warmest 10% of all years since 1910) in many areas.
• Victoria River Downs equalled its highest mean temperature on record.
• Temperatures in southern areas of the Northern Territory were generally close to or slightly below average.
• For the Northern Territory overall, the annual mean temperature was 0.69 °C above the 1961–1990 average, the maximum temperature 0.68 °C above average and the minimum temperature 0.69 °C above average.
• It was the second-warmest March on record since 1910, and the third-warmest April on record, in terms of mean temperature, during the unusually dry end to the wet season.
• July had cool days and cold nights, particularly in the south; overall it was the coolest July since 1983, with mean minimum temperatures the fifth-coolest on record.
• It was very warm across the Top End in September, with a number of sites having their warmest September mean maximum temperatures on record.
• Late October saw heatwave conditions across the Top End, reaching Severe to Extreme intensity in some areas; many sites had their warmest October night on record during this period.

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 1972.2 mm, which is 114% of the long-term average of 1726.9 mm.
• The October to December rainfall total of 923.6 mm was a record for Darwin Airport, exceeding the previous record of 910.9 mm in 1974.
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 32.9 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 32.1 °C.
• The warmest day was 37.4 °C on 14 September, and the coolest day was on 29 June when the temperature reached 25.3 °C.
• The mean daily maximum temperature was the equal fifth-warmest on record since 1941, but cooler than each of the previous three years.
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 23.8 °C, which is 0.6 °C above the long-term average of 23.2 °C.
• The coldest morning was 14.1 °C on 24 July, and the warmest morning was on 24 October when the minimum temperature was 29.2 °C.
• July daily minimum temperatures were below 20 °C for the entire month, only the third such occurrence after June 2011 and July 1965.

Alice Springs Airport

• Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 439.2 mm, which is 156% of the long-term average of 281.6 mm.
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 28.9 °C, which is equal to the long-term average.
• The warmest day was 42.9 °C on 10 January, and the coolest days were on 11 June and 1 September when the temperature reached 13.5 °C.
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 12.6 °C, which is 0.6 °C below the long-term average of 13.2 °C.
• The coldest morning was -4.0 °C on 15 July, and the warmest morning was on 15 January when the minimum temperature was 28.5 °C.
• July had 15 consecutive nights (3rd to the 17th) with a minimum temperature below 0 °C, the longest such sequence there with records beginning in 1941.

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

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Monthly maps
	Rainfall rank	Maximum temperature rank	Minimum temperature rank
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

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* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top