Monday, 3 March 2008 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0
Northern Territory in February 2008
Long-lived monsoon, but dry in the south
Summary
February began with an inactive monsoon over northern Australia, with conditions over the Top End akin to the build-up. About a week into the month, the monsoon trough reinvigorated over northern Australia, bringing periods of heavy rain. These conditions persisted for the remainder of the month with large rainfall totals recorded during February. By contrast, a hot and dry summer continued over southern parts of the Territory.
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Rainfall
A combination of the long-running active monsoon and extreme rainfall events that were recorded during the monsoon meant that many Territory stations over the Top End and Victoria River region recorded record-high February rainfall totals. Dum In Mirrie recorded 1193 mm for the month, which included 767 mm in a three-day period from 20 February, being one of the highest three-day totals ever recorded in the Territory. Over much of the western Top End, rainfall was observed on most days of the month, with Darwin recording its most-ever February rain days (28).
While a deluge occurred in the north, hot and dry conditions persisted over southern parts of the Territory. There were isolated falls in the 20−40 mm range, but most observing sites recorded single-digit rainfall totals. As a result summer rains have essentially failed over much of this region, which also experienced relatively dry and record hot weather in January.
Some sites had their highest total February rainfall on record.
Some sites had their highest daily February rainfall on record.
Temperature
The lingering monsoon conditions resulted in below average day-time temperatures over northern parts of the Territory, while over the Barkly and northern parts of the Alice Springs district the persistence of dry sunny days resulted in above average temperatures when averaged across the month.
Some sites had their highest February temperature on record.
Some sites had their coldest February day (lowest maximum temperature) on record.
Some sites had their lowest February mean daily maximum temperature on record.
Some sites had their lowest February temperature on record.
Some sites had their warmest February night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
Some sites had their highest February mean daily minimum temperature on record.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.NT@bom.gov.au
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
44.8°C at Wulungurru AWS on the 20th |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature | 38.4°C at Ali Curung |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature | 30.2°C at Central Arnhem Plateau AWS |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature | 23.0°C at Curtin Springs on the 24th |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature | 12.0°C at Watarrka on the 24th |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature | 20.2°C at Kulgera |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
26.7°C at Centre Island AWS |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
30.6°C at Wulungurru AWS on the 21st |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall | 1193.2 mm at Dum In Mirrie AWS |
| Wettest days Highest daily rainfall |
345.6 mm at Dum In Mirrie AWS on the 20th 304.2 mm at Dum In Mirrie AWS on the 19th |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Records
| Record highest total rainfall for February 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total rainfall (mm) |
Previous highest for February |
Years of record |
||
Victoria River Downs |
747.0 |
579.8 |
in 2004 |
119 |
Ngukurr |
636.1 |
570.8 |
in 1943 |
74 |
Larrimah |
494.4 |
485.9 |
in 2002 |
54 |
Kidman Springs |
575.7 |
395.3 |
in 1980 |
35 |
Pirlangimpi AWS |
878.8 |
780.9 |
in 1999 |
34 |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
469.8 |
444.6 |
in 2002 |
30 |
Mango Farm |
647.1 |
568.4 |
in 1993 |
25 |
Keep River Rangers |
674.1 |
347.2 |
in 2002 |
24 |
Dorisvale |
591.6 |
450.0 |
in 1999 |
18 |
Dun Im Mirrie AWS |
1193.2 |
873.6 |
in 1999 |
16 |
Leanyer |
824.6 |
797.0 |
in 2003 |
16 |
Wagait Beach |
696.9 |
696.8 |
in 2003 |
16 |
Channel Point |
895.0 |
833.3 |
in 1999 |
15 |
Walker Creek |
952.3 |
640.0 |
in 2001 |
10 |
| Record highest daily rainfall for February 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily (°C) |
Previous highest | Years of record |
|||
Darwin Botanic Garden |
190.8 |
on the 20th |
181.6 |
on the 17th in 1893 |
45 |
Kidman Springs |
133.8 |
on the 13th |
108.4 |
on the 13th in 2001 |
36 |
Pirlangimpi AWS |
152.6 |
on the 19th |
118.1 |
on the 16th in 1999 |
35 |
Keep River Rangers |
184.6 |
on the 28th |
90.3 |
on the 15th in 1997 |
23 |
Dorisvale |
136.6 |
on the 27th |
115.2 |
on the 24th in 1990 |
18 |
Leanyer |
179.2 |
on the 20th |
151.8 |
on the 20th in 2003 |
16 |
Nightcliff Pool |
199.8 |
on the 19th |
187.5 |
on the 6th in 1969 |
16 |
CSIRO Berrimah |
181.0 |
on the 20th |
107.0 |
on the 22nd in 1997 |
12 |
Walker Creek |
178.8 |
on the 19th |
135.4 |
on the 20th in 1997 |
10 |
| Record lowest daily maximum temperature for February 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lowest daily maximum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest |
Years of record |
|||
Pirlangimpi AWS |
25.7 |
on the 19th |
26.5 |
on the 24th in 1991 |
23 |
Ngukurr |
26.5 |
on the 10th |
26.6 |
on the 28th in 1969 |
14 |
| Record lowest mean daily maximum temperature for February 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest | Years of record |
||
Channel Point |
30.5 |
30.7 |
in 1999 |
13 |
| Record highest daily minimum temperature for February 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Years of record |
|||
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
28.2 |
on the 18th |
27.8 |
on the 16th in 1994 |
11 |
| Record lowest temperature for February 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lowest temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest | Years of record |
|||
Watarrka |
12.0 |
on the 24th |
13.6 |
on the 22nd in 2002 |
17 |
| Record highest mean daily minimum temperature for February 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest | Years of record |
||
Ali Curung |
25.4 |
25.0 |
in 1994 |
18 |
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
23.4 |
22.8 |
in 2006 |
11 |
Rabbit Flat |
24.4 |
24.2 |
in 2003 |
10 |
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Summaries
This table is very wide and may not fit if printed.
| Summary statistics for February 2008 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean | Diff from normal |
Highest | Mean | Diff from normal |
Lowest | Total | Rank | Fraction of normal |
||||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
Batchelor Aero AWS |
31.0 |
–1.4 |
35.5 |
1st |
23.9 |
+0.1 |
22.6 |
20th |
670.4 |
very high |
200% |
|
Black Point |
31.0 |
0.0 |
33.5 |
1st |
25.7 |
0.0 |
20.9 |
21st |
227.4 |
normal |
79% |
|
Bradshaw AWS |
32.8 |
38.1 |
1st |
24.7 |
22.5 |
18th |
232.4 |
|||||
Cape Don AWS |
31.0 |
34.1 |
1st |
25.8 |
23.4 |
11th |
356.6 |
very high |
165% |
|||
Central Arnhem Plateau AWS |
30.2 |
35.7 |
1st |
23.0 |
21.9 |
13th |
434.6 |
|||||
Channel Point |
30.5 |
–1.1 |
34.1 |
3rd |
25.1 |
+0.1 |
23.0 |
20th |
895.0 |
highest |
216% |
|
Darwin Airport |
30.8 |
–0.6 |
34.0 |
2nd |
24.7 |
+0.1 |
22.8 |
12th |
690.0 |
very high |
193% |
|
Delamere Weapons Range AWS |
32.4 |
–2.2 |
37.0 |
1st |
23.5 |
–0.4 |
21.0 |
18th |
578.2 |
very high |
275% |
|
Dum In Mirrie AWS |
30.6 |
–0.6 |
33.5 |
1st |
25.0 |
–0.2 |
23.3 |
20th |
1193.2 |
highest |
298% |
|
Jabiru Airport AWS |
32.4 |
–0.7 |
36.4 |
4th |
24.7 |
+0.3 |
23.3 |
14th |
488.0 |
high |
135% |
|
Katherine Aviation Museum |
32.7 |
–1.4 |
38.1 |
2nd |
23.9 |
–0.1 |
22.2 |
9th |
469.8 |
highest |
196% |
|
Mango Farm |
31.5 |
–1.7 |
37.4 |
1st |
24.1 |
+0.4 |
22.6 |
19th |
647.1 |
highest |
204% |
|
McCluer Island AWS |
30.7 |
33.7 |
5th |
26.2 |
23.7 |
23rd |
418.0 |
very high |
160% |
|||
Middle Point AWS |
32.3 |
37.3 |
2nd |
24.3 |
23.2 |
12th |
543.4 |
|||||
Oenpelli |
32.0 |
–0.5 |
36.5 |
3rd |
23.4 |
24th |
591.3 |
very high |
179% |
|||
Pine Creek Council |
31.3 |
36.1 |
2nd |
23.9 |
22.6 |
9th |
491.2 |
|||||
Pirlangimpi AWS |
30.7 |
–0.7 |
34.0 |
1st |
24.6 |
+0.3 |
23.4 |
19th |
878.8 |
highest |
227% |
|
Point Fawcett AWS |
30.7 |
–0.7 |
33.3 |
1st |
25.7 |
+0.2 |
24.1 |
12th |
271.0 |
normal |
99% |
|
Tindal RAAF AWS |
32.8 |
–1.0 |
37.0 |
2nd |
24.2 |
+0.1 |
22.4 |
9th |
457.0 |
very high |
188% |
|
| Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
Alyangula Police |
32.3 |
–0.2 |
35.4 |
4th |
26.2 |
+0.6 |
22.2 |
29th |
280.8 |
normal |
117% |
|
Gove Airport |
31.3 |
–0.1 |
34.6 |
6th |
24.5 |
–0.1 |
22.8 |
14th |
261.6 |
normal |
92% |
|
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS |
32.5 |
35.4 |
6th |
25.1 |
21.7 |
29th |
343.6 |
|||||
Maningrida Aero AWS |
31.7 |
35.1 |
6th |
24.9 |
23.2 |
23rd |
500.0 |
|||||
Milingimbi AWS |
31.8 |
35.6 |
6th |
25.2 |
23.3 |
23rd |
439.0 |
|||||
Ngayawili AWS |
31.1 |
33.6 |
4th |
25.4 |
24.0 |
7th |
471.6 |
|||||
Warruwi AWS |
31.4 |
0.0 |
34.8 |
4th |
25.8 |
+0.5 |
23.6 |
13th |
224.2 |
normal |
95% |
|
| Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
Borroloola AWS |
33.9 |
0.0 |
37.8 |
1st |
24.7 |
0.0 |
22.1 |
7th |
296.0 |
high |
131% |
|
Bulman AWS |
33.7 |
37.5 |
3rd |
24.4 |
22.3 |
29th |
309.8 |
|||||
Centre Island AWS |
33.1 |
+0.1 |
36.2 |
6th |
26.7 |
+0.2 |
23.8 |
29th |
202.0 |
normal |
74% |
|
Daly Waters AWS |
33.6 |
–1.3 |
39.4 |
5th |
23.6 |
+0.1 |
20.9 |
16th |
391.2 |
very high |
227% |
|
Larrimah |
33.6 |
–0.8 |
37.7 |
3rd |
23.7 |
0.0 |
21.2 |
11th |
494.4 |
highest |
246% |
|
McArthur River Mine |
35.4 |
+0.2 |
40.0 |
6th |
25.4 |
+0.7 |
22.6 |
9th |
191.2 |
normal |
105% |
|
Ngukurr |
33.8 |
–1.3 |
39.0 |
6th |
25.0 |
+0.3 |
23.0 |
11th |
636.1 |
highest |
370% |
|
Wollogorang |
34.7 |
+0.3 |
38.3 |
4th |
24.9 |
+0.8 |
22.6 |
12th |
194.2 |
normal |
77% |
|
| Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
Kidman Springs |
33.8 |
–2.1 |
38.1 |
1st |
24.1 |
–0.8 |
21.9 |
11th |
575.7 |
highest |
322% |
|
Lajamanu AWS |
36.5 |
+0.6 |
40.1 |
20th |
24.1 |
+0.4 |
21.9 |
13th |
83.2 |
normal |
56% |
|
Timber Creek |
34.1 |
–1.0 |
39.0 |
1st |
24.2 |
–0.5 |
22.1 |
19th |
381.5 |
high |
172% |
|
Victoria River Downs |
33.1 |
–2.4 |
38.4 |
1st |
24.1 |
–0.4 |
21.9 |
9th |
747.0 |
highest |
477% |
|
Wave Hill |
35.2 |
–0.7 |
40.9 |
1st |
24.1 |
+0.3 |
21.3 |
16th |
183.9 |
normal |
105% |
|
| Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
Brunette Downs |
38.1 |
+1.8 |
41.4 |
6th |
25.4 |
+1.2 |
21.9 |
24th |
98.4 |
normal |
99% |
|
Tennant Creek Airport |
37.9 |
+2.2 |
40.7 |
1st |
26.2 |
+1.7 |
23.8 |
14th |
37.4 |
low |
30% |
|
| Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
Ali Curung |
38.4 |
+1.7 |
41.9 |
20th |
25.4 |
+2.2 |
18.7 |
19th |
21.8 |
low |
21% |
|
Alice Springs Airport |
35.0 |
–0.1 |
41.5 |
22nd |
21.1 |
+0.4 |
15.1 |
29th |
6.2 |
normal |
15% |
|
Arltunga |
34.5 |
41.0 |
22nd |
22.1 |
15.8 |
26th |
3.0 |
low |
7% |
|||
Curtin Springs |
35.7 |
–0.7 |
43.4 |
21st |
21.7 |
+0.1 |
15.3 |
25th |
0 |
low |
0% |
|
Jervois |
37.4 |
+0.6 |
43.1 |
22nd |
23.9 |
+1.9 |
19.1 |
29th |
1.0 |
low |
2% |
|
Kulgera |
33.4 |
–2.2 |
41.8 |
21st |
20.2 |
–1.4 |
13.2 |
26th |
4.6 |
normal |
13% |
|
Papunya |
38.2 |
42.1 |
22nd |
22.3 |
17.6 |
29th |
0 |
low |
0% |
|||
Rabbit Flat |
38.1 |
+1.2 |
41.7 |
20th |
24.4 |
+0.8 |
18.9 |
28th |
21.0 |
low |
17% |
|
Territory Grape Farm |
37.0 |
+0.7 |
41.7 |
21st |
23.4 |
+1.8 |
17.8 |
29th |
5.0 |
low |
7% |
|
Watarrka |
36.3 |
–0.6 |
42.5 |
21st |
23.1 |
–0.2 |
12.0 |
24th |
6.8 |
normal |
14% |
|
Yulara Aero AWS |
35.6 |
–1.3 |
42.7 |
21st |
21.9 |
–0.3 |
16.4 |
25th |
1.6 |
normal |
3% |
|
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Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 5 pm on Monday 3 March 2008. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
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,
normal in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of normal shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.NT@bom.gov.au