Friday, 1 December 2006 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0
Dry start to the wet while the south swelters– the Northern Territory in November 2006
Hot temperatures and dry winds were the dominant feature of the Territory during November, consistent with El Niño conditions. Darwin saw its driest start to the wet season since 1976, while Alice Springs had its hottest November on record and broke several hot spell records at the end of the month.
The dominant synoptic pattern was a series of high pressure systems over southern parts of the continent directing a dry easterly trade wind flow across the Territory from the first week of the month. The resulting lack of cloud cover and east to northeast wind flow resulted in hot daytime temperatures at many locations over central and southern parts during much of November, culminating in a record hot spell at Alice Springs. Maximum temperature records were broken for many stations.
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Rainfall
Most of the rainfall for the month of November was recorded over the northwestern Top End, with isolated falls up to 260 mm. Most of this occurred during the first 10 days of the month, with Middle Point recording 112 mm on the 5th. Despite these high 5thrainfall totals in the Darwin rural area, Darwin itself had its driest start to the wet season since 1976, with the October/November total just 45.4 mm. Dry air from highs over southern parts of the continent swept the moisture out of much of the Territory after the first week or so, with only very isolated falls occurring later. Small rainfall totals (generally less than 10 mm) were recorded over southern parts of the Territory, associated with cloud bands that affected the area early in the month, and during the 12th and 13th.
Some sites had their lowest total November rainfall on record.
Maximum temperature
Mean maximum temperatures were well above the November average over most inland areas, with anomalies exceeding 3°CC in southern parts. Several locations recorded their hottest November on record, including Alice Springs. Alice Springs recorded its longest spell of consecutive days in November, where the temperatre reached at least 37.8°CC (100°CF), of 12 days. It also recorded the most consecutive number of days of 42°CC or above for November, which equalled the previous record for any time of year.
The month started with near average maximum temperatures across the Territory, and these persisted during the first week. Dry easterly winds cleared the cloud and weather from central and southern parts by the end of the first week. This resulted in a period of very hot maximum temperatures over most parts from 6th to the 16th , with stations over southern and central parts recording daytime temperatures in excess of 40°CC. A brief period of cooler daytime temperatures was experienced over most parts from the 17th to the 18th, due a cooler southeasterly wind flow from a strong high in the Bight. However, as the high east and strengthened the ridge along the Queensland coast, the hot easterly winds returned. Hot conditions recommenced, with temperatures in excess of 40°CC for central and southern locations.
Some sites had their highest November temperature on record.
Some sites had their highest November mean daily maximum temperature on record.
Minimum temperature
Overnight temperatures were warmer than normal in the south, particularly late in the month. Elsewhere in the Territory during November, monthly average minimum temperatures were generally close to the long-term mean.
Minimum temperatures were generally above average over southern and western parts of the Alice Springs district during the first 2 weeks of November. This was due to the warmer northerly winds ahead of troughs over Western Australia, and the cloud bands to the east of these troughs keeping overnight temperatures warm. Cooler overnight temperatures were experienced across much of the Alice Springs district from the 14th to the 20th, associated with clear skies and the cooler southeasterly air mass from the strong high in the Bight. However, overnight minimum temperatures increased once again from the 21st, with warmer east to northeast wind flow returning.
The cooler southeasterly air mass from the high in the Bight was also responsible for below average minimum temperatures affecting central parts of the Territory and the Gulf Country, with fresh southeast winds pushing into the Gulf Country on the 16th.
Some sites had their lowest November temperature on record.
Some sites had their warmest November night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
Some sites had their highest November mean daily minimum temperature on record.
Some sites had their lowest November mean daily minimum temperature on record.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
44.9°C at Wulungurru AWS on the 26th |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
41.4°C at Lajamanu AWS |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature | 32.6°C at Gove Airport |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature | 26.2°C at Arltunga on the 16th |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature | 10.5°C at Watarrka on the 18th |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature |
18.6°C at Territory Grape Farm AWS |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
26.5°C at Bradshaw and 26.5°C at Centre Island AWS |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature | 30.2°C at Watarrka on the 25th |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall |
261.4 mm at Middle Point AWS |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall | 112.4 mm at Middle Point AWS on the 5th |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Records
| Record lowest rainfall for November 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall (mm) |
Previous lowest | Normal | Years of record |
||
Larrimah * |
1.2 |
1.5 |
in 1965 |
65.7 |
53 |
Wave Hill * |
1.0 |
11.4 |
in 1992 |
57.9 |
31 |
Wollogorang * |
16.5 |
19.1 |
in 1997 |
66.5 |
27 |
Channel Point * |
19.2 |
34.8 |
in 2000 |
137.1 |
13 |
| Record highest mean daily maximum temperature for November 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum (°C) |
Previous highest | Normal | Years of record |
||
Alice Springs Airport * |
37.1 |
37.0 |
in 1990 |
33.6 |
65 |
Daly Waters AWS |
40.4 |
39.7 |
in 2002 |
38.0 |
36 |
Kulgera |
37.1 |
36.1 |
in 1993 |
33.4 |
24 |
Mango Farm |
37.7 |
37.6 |
in 2000 |
36.5 |
24 |
Timber Creek # |
40.3 |
39.5 |
in 1983 |
38.3 |
24 |
Tindal RAAF AWS # |
39.6 |
38.0 |
in 1994 |
37.0 |
17 |
Yulara Aero AWS |
38.1 |
37.3 |
in 1987 |
34.8 |
17 |
Lajamanu AWS # |
41.4 |
39.7 |
in 2004 |
38.2 |
12 |
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
37.5 |
37.3 |
in 1996 |
35.5 |
11 |
Kidman Springs |
40.6 |
39.8 |
in 1996 |
38.8 |
10 |
| Record highest temperature for November 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Normal | Years of record |
|||
Daly Waters AWS # |
44.5 |
on the 15th |
43.0 |
on the 3rd in 2001 |
38.0 |
36 |
Kulgera |
44.7 |
on the 29th |
44.1 |
on the 27th in 1996 |
33.4 |
24 |
Timber Creek # |
43.7 |
on the 15th |
43.4 |
on the 25th in 1992 |
38.3 |
24 |
Tindal RAAF AWS # |
42.5 |
on the 10th |
41.4 |
on the 1st in 1993 |
37.0 |
17 |
Ngukurr |
43.6 |
on the 10th |
43.3 |
on the 9th in 1965 |
38.9 |
11 |
| Record highest mean daily minimum temperature for November 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Normal | Years of record |
||
Curtin Springs |
21.2 |
20.3 |
in 1987 |
17.8 |
41 |
Kulgera |
20.8 |
20.7 |
in 1990 |
18.4 |
24 |
Tindal RAAF AWS |
25.8 |
25.7 |
in 2003 |
24.9 |
17 |
Yulara Aero AWS |
20.9 |
20.1 |
in 1987 |
18.0 |
17 |
Watarrka |
23.6 |
21.6 |
in 2002 |
19.8 |
16 |
| Record lowest mean daily minimum temperature for November 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest | Normal | Years of record |
||
Daly Waters AWS |
21.2 |
22.3 |
in 2003 |
23.8 |
36 |
| Record highest daily minimum temperature for November 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Normal | Years of record |
|||
Watarrka |
30.2 |
on the 25th |
29.8 |
on the 29th in 2004 |
19.8 |
16 |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Summaries
| Summary statistics for November 2006 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean | Diff from normal |
Highest | Mean | Diff from normal |
Lowest | Total | Normal | Rank | Fraction of normal |
|||
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
Batchelor Aero AWS |
36.8 |
+1.3 |
38.7 |
16th |
24.2 |
+0.3 |
21.3 |
5th |
124.2 |
135.6 |
normal |
92% |
Black Point |
32.8 |
−0.3 |
34.2 |
19th |
24.8 |
−0.9 |
21.4 |
2nd |
0.2 |
65.6 |
very low |
0% |
Bradshaw |
40.3 |
43.7 |
10th |
26.5 |
22.9 |
4th |
50.4 |
|||||
Cape Don AWS |
32.7 |
34.8 |
19th |
26.3 |
24.8 |
2nd |
9.6 |
106.7 |
lowest |
9% |
||
Central Arnhem Plateau AWS |
35.8 |
38.0 |
15th |
23.7 |
21.0 |
17th |
50.0 |
|||||
Channel Point |
32.9 |
−0.1 |
35.0 |
19th |
22.4 |
19th |
19.2 |
137.1 |
lowest |
14% |
||
Darwin Airport |
33.9 |
+0.7 |
36.5 |
15th |
25.5 |
+0.1 |
22.6 |
6th |
45.4 |
141.8 |
very low |
32% |
Delamere Weapons Range AWS |
39.7 |
+2.4 |
43.0 |
15th |
25.2 |
+0.4 |
21.0 |
6th |
7.8 |
|||
Douglas River |
38.2 |
+1.4 |
40.5 |
16th |
23.8 |
+0.4 |
22.2 |
5th |
51.2 |
119.5 |
very low |
43% |
Dum In Mirrie AWS |
33.2 |
35.3 |
20th |
26.3 |
22.8 |
4th |
83.6 |
124.0 |
normal |
67% |
||
Jabiru Airport AWS |
37.7 |
+1.0 |
39.2 |
10th |
24.6 |
−0.3 |
21.8 |
17th |
147.0 |
150.4 |
normal |
98% |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
39.5 |
+2.1 |
42.5 |
15th |
25.2 |
+0.5 |
23.5 |
2nd |
21.4 |
91.3 |
very low |
23% |
Mango Farm |
37.7 |
+1.2 |
40.8 |
15th |
23.7 |
+0.2 |
22.4 |
28th |
75.1 |
128.8 |
low |
58% |
McCluer Island AWS |
31.0 |
32.6 |
16th |
26.7 |
24.2 |
2nd |
0.0 |
31.3 |
lowest |
0% |
||
Middle Point AWS |
36.1 |
38.5 |
15th |
23.1 |
20.3 |
2nd |
261.4 |
|||||
Oenpelli |
40.1 |
10th |
21.3 |
27th |
55.2 |
111.7 |
low |
49% |
||||
Pine Creek Council |
37.1 |
39.3 |
16th |
24.4 |
21.2 |
4th |
98.4 |
|||||
Pirlangimpi AWS |
34.1 |
+0.8 |
35.3 |
21st |
24.3 |
+0.2 |
22.3 |
8th |
50.2 |
198.0 |
very low |
25% |
Point Fawcett AWS |
32.8 |
34.4 |
20th |
24.9 |
22.3 |
25th |
38.4 |
|||||
Port Keats Aero AWS |
34.7 |
37.4 |
15th |
25.0 |
23.2 |
7th |
10.4 |
|||||
Tindal RAAF AWS |
39.6 |
+2.6 |
42.5 |
10th |
25.8 |
+0.9 |
23.8 |
21st |
16.8 |
105.8 |
very low |
16% |
Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
Alyangula Police |
33.1 |
−0.9 |
36.0 |
11th |
24.9 |
−0.5 |
21.2 |
21st |
14.3 |
59.6 |
low |
24% |
Gove Airport |
32.6 |
−0.4 |
36.3 |
10th |
22.6 |
−0.9 |
20.7 |
22nd |
3.2 |
47.1 |
normal |
7% |
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS |
35.3 |
38.2 |
11th |
22.4 |
18.5 |
21st |
71.8 |
|||||
Maningrida |
33.3 |
−0.1 |
34.1 |
10th |
23.0 |
26th |
6.4 |
52.9 |
low |
12% |
||
Maningrida Aero AWS |
33.5 |
35.0 |
10th |
24.6 |
22.5 |
26th |
10.0 |
|||||
Milingimbi AWS |
33.3 |
36.3 |
10th |
24.9 |
23.2 |
26th |
12.8 |
|||||
Ngayawili AWS |
32.7 |
35.3 |
23rd |
23.6 |
20.4 |
25th |
0.0 |
|||||
Warruwi AWS |
33.7 |
+0.1 |
35.5 |
9th |
26.3 |
−0.1 |
24.1 |
26th |
0.8 |
58.4 |
very low |
1% |
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
Borroloola AWS |
38.0 |
+0.8 |
43.9 |
15th |
23.0 |
−0.9 |
18.5 |
18th |
1.6 |
83.0 |
lowest |
2% |
Bulman AWS |
39.4 |
42.9 |
10th |
22.8 |
19.9 |
25th |
13.6 |
|||||
Centre Island AWS |
34.7 |
+0.2 |
37.4 |
11th |
26.5 |
−0.3 |
24.9 |
4th |
0.6 |
40.3 |
low |
1% |
Daly Waters AWS |
40.4 |
+2.5 |
44.5 |
15th |
21.2 |
−2.6 |
16.9 |
6th |
19.2 |
42.1 |
low |
46% |
Larrimah |
39.6 |
+1.8 |
43.1 |
15th |
24.0 |
−0.4 |
20.0 |
6th |
1.2 |
65.7 |
lowest |
2% |
McArthur River Mine |
39.4 |
+0.7 |
43.8 |
15th |
22.8 |
−1.2 |
17.8 |
18th |
27.8 |
54.3 |
normal |
51% |
Ngukurr |
39.7 |
+0.8 |
43.6 |
10th |
25.0 |
+0.2 |
23.1 |
18th |
3.0 |
41.1 |
low |
7% |
Wollogorang |
38.5 |
+1.0 |
43.0 |
15th |
20.3 |
−2.2 |
14.8 |
18th |
16.5 |
66.5 |
lowest |
25% |
Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
Kidman Springs |
40.6 |
+1.8 |
44.0 |
10th |
25.0 |
0 |
19.0 |
6th |
17.0 |
58.2 |
low |
29% |
Lajamanu AWS |
41.4 |
+3.2 |
44.0 |
12th |
22.7 |
−0.5 |
17.0 |
6th |
0.0 |
35.6 |
lowest |
0% |
Timber Creek |
40.3 |
+2.0 |
43.7 |
15th |
25.0 |
−0.3 |
20.2 |
17th |
26.8 |
82.4 |
low |
33% |
Victoria River Downs |
39.6 |
+1.3 |
42.8 |
10th |
23.8 |
−0.8 |
18.2 |
6th |
20.2 |
59.4 |
low |
34% |
Wave Hill |
40.7 |
+2.0 |
44.0 |
10th |
23.4 |
−0.4 |
15.2 |
6th |
1.0 |
57.9 |
lowest |
2% |
Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
Brunette Downs |
40.1 |
+2.1 |
43.1 |
30th |
22.8 |
−0.4 |
17.5 |
18th |
2.6 |
29.4 |
low |
9% |
Elliott |
43.9 |
15th |
17.0 |
6th |
5.0 |
46.6 |
low |
11% |
||||
Tennant Creek Airport |
38.7 |
+2.3 |
42.2 |
30th |
24.4 |
+0.6 |
21.0 |
17th |
7.8 |
38.2 |
low |
20% |
Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
Ali Curung |
39.2 |
+2.4 |
43.1 |
30th |
20.8 |
−0.7 |
15.4 |
5th |
11.0 |
32.0 |
low |
34% |
Alice Springs Airport |
37.1 |
+3.5 |
42.6 |
29th |
19.2 |
+1.4 |
12.3 |
5th |
4.6 |
27.1 |
low |
17% |
Arltunga |
35.6 |
42.1 |
29th |
18.8 |
12.2 |
5th |
27.8 |
29.9 |
normal |
93% |
||
Curtin Springs |
38.5 |
+4.2 |
43.8 |
26th |
21.2 |
+3.5 |
14.7 |
17th |
6.0 |
21.1 |
normal |
28% |
Jervois |
38.1 |
+2.2 |
45.3 |
30th |
19.7 |
+0.9 |
11.2 |
18th |
0.4 |
23.5 |
very low |
2% |
Kulgera |
37.1 |
+3.7 |
44.7 |
29th |
20.8 |
+2.4 |
13.6 |
17th |
11.7 |
22.1 |
normal |
53% |
Papunya |
38.9 |
43.5 |
26th |
21.2 |
16.4 |
5th |
0.0 |
32.8 |
lowest |
0% |
||
Rabbit Flat |
40.8 |
+2.1 |
43.3 |
30th |
20.0 |
−2.5 |
14.9 |
7th |
1.2 |
31.2 |
low |
4% |
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
37.5 |
+2.0 |
42.8 |
30th |
18.6 |
0 |
12.2 |
17th |
29.8 |
34.7 |
normal |
86% |
Watarrka |
38.6 |
+3.6 |
43.0 |
12th |
23.6 |
+3.8 |
10.5 |
18th |
14.6 |
40.1 |
normal |
36% |
Wulungurru AWS |
40.9 |
44.9 |
26th |
25.9 |
21.3 |
16th |
0.0 |
|||||
Yuendumu |
41.8 |
28th |
19.6 |
−0.3 |
14.4 |
19th |
13.6 |
31.5 |
low |
43% |
||
Yulara Aero AWS |
38.1 |
+3.3 |
43.6 |
26th |
20.9 |
+3.0 |
15.3 |
17th |
1.6 |
32.6 |
very low |
5% |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Notes
* denotes that one or more observations missing, or that the data is unconfirmed
# denotes this a record for any month, not just November.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 am on Friday 1 December 2006. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Normals are long-term averages based on observations from the years 1800 to 2005. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record in that time, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The Rank indicates about where rainfall this time ranks in the climate record for the site.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au