Wednesday, 1 April 2009 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC22R0

Northern Territory in March 2009
Mostly Hot and Sunny

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Summary

Whole of Territory averages …

• Maximum Temperature: 35.7°C, which was 1.8°C above the long-term average.
• Minimum Temperature:  22.0°C, which was 0.3°C above the long-term average.
• Rainfall: 21.9 mm, which was 79.9 mm below the long-term average, and the lowest value since 1991.

During March tropical cyclones formed over the oceans either side of the Australian continent, but as far as the Territory was concerned, the monsoon trough stayed offshore throughout the month. As a consequence, less rain than average was recorded across virtually the whole of the Territory, with more sunny days than usual and hotter day time temperatures.

Darwin

Darwin experienced its 4th driest March on record and driest since 1987, with only 115.6 mm being recorded at the Airport site, compared to the long-term average of 324.7 mm. The lack of rain meant more warm sunny days than usual, and Darwin recorded its 3rd hottest mean maximum temperature, at 33.2°C. The most recent hotter March was in 2002, when the average maximum temperature was 33.3°C. For the wet season rainfall to the end of March, Darwin has recorded 1519.8 mm, close to the long-term average of 1560.3 mm.

Rainfall

Rainfall was less than average virtually throughout the Territory. Much of the southern half received no rain at all, while the lack of monsoon activity in the north led to much below average falls there.

Over the Territory as a whole, the area-averaged rainfall was 21.9 mm, 79.9 mm below the long-term average, and the lowest value since 1991.

The wettest overall was 299.0 mm at Pirlangimpi, followed by 288.6 mm at Ngayawili, followed by 268.8 mm at McCluer Island.

Some sites had their lowest total March rainfall on record.

Some sites had their lowest total March rainfall for at least 20 years.

The wettest single day 73.0 mm at Ngayawili on the 14th, followed by 72.0 mm at Mango Farm on the 1st, followed by 69.8 mm at Pirlangimpi on the 4th.

There is a map of rainfall deciles below.

Maximum temperature

Dry sunny conditions led to above average maximum temperatures this month. In the southern half, temperatures were 1−4°C above average, while in the northern half 0−2°C above average was the norm.

The area-averaged maximum temperature was 35.7°C, which was 1.8°C warmer than the long-term average.

The hottest day was 42.5°C at Walungurru on the 23rd, followed by 42.2°C at Walungurru on the 14th, followed by 42.2°C at Rabbit Flat on the 23rd, followed by 42.1°C at Jervois on the 3rd.

The warmest days on average were 39.3°C at Rabbit Flat, followed by 38.9°C at Walungurru, followed by 38.1°C at Lajamanu.

The coolest days on average were 31.2°C at McCluer Island, followed by 31.7°C at Gove Airport, followed by 31.8°C at Cape Don.

The coldest day was 23.5°C at Kulgera on the 4th, followed by 25.0°C at Curtin Springs on the 4th, followed by 25.0°C at Yulara Aero on the 4th.

Some sites had their highest March temperature on record.

Some sites had their highest March mean daily maximum temperature on record.

There is a map of mean maximum temperatures below. There is a map of maximum temperature anomalies below.

Minimum temperature

Despite the lack of rain, some hot days and windy nights led to extremely warm overnight minimum temperatures in southern parts of the Territory. Alice Springs recorded its hottest March night on record on the 3rd, after equally the previous record on the first. Further north, where windy nights were less of a feature, the drier conditions generally led to cooler nights for most locations except for the northwest Top End.

The area-averaged minimum temperature was 22.0°C, which was 0.3°C above the long-term average.

The coldest night was 12.0°C at Kulgera on the 5th, followed by 12.4°C at Arltunga on the 6th, followed by 12.5°C at Kulgera on the 7th, followed by 12.5°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 18th.

The coolest nights on average were 19.2°C at Curtin Springs, followed by 19.3°C at Kulgera, followed by 19.4°C at Daly Waters AWS, followed by 19.4°C at Yulara Aero.

The warmest nights on average were 27.1°C at Centre Island, followed by 26.5°C at Cape Don.

The warmest night was 29.6°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 3rd, followed by 29.4°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 1st and 29.4°C at Jervois on the 14th.

Some sites had their warmest March night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.

Some sites had their lowest March mean daily minimum temperature on record.

Wind

The strongest wind gust was 100 km/h at Darwin Airport on the 17th, followed by 76 km/h at Tennant Creek Airport on the 22nd, followed by 76 km/h at Alice Springs Airport on the 25th.

Other Reports

An archive of previous monthly summaries for Northern Territory is also available, as are summaries for other states and many other climate summaries and diagnostics.

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Extremes

Hottest day Highest temperature	42.5°C at Walungurru on the 23rd 42.2°C at Walungurru on the 14th 42.2°C at Rabbit Flat on the 23rd
Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature	39.3°C at Rabbit Flat 38.9°C at Walungurru 38.1°C at Lajamanu
Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature	31.2°C at McCluer Island 31.7°C at Gove Airport 31.8°C at Cape Don
Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature	23.5°C at Kulgera on the 4th 25.0°C at Curtin Springs on the 4th 25.0°C at Yulara Aero on the 4th
Coldest night Lowest temperature	12.0°C at Kulgera on the 5th 12.4°C at Arltunga on the 6th 12.5°C at Kulgera on the 7th 12.5°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 18th
Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature	19.2°C at Curtin Springs 19.3°C at Kulgera 19.4°C at Daly Waters AWS 19.4°C at Yulara Aero
Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature	27.8°C at Northern Endeavour 27.1°C at Centre Island 26.5°C at Cape Don
Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature	29.6°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 3rd 29.4°C at Alice Springs Airport on the 1st 29.4°C at Jervois on the 14th
Wettest overall Highest total rainfall	299.0 mm at Pirlangimpi 288.6 mm at Ngayawili 268.8 mm at McCluer Island
Wettest day Highest daily rainfall	73.0 mm at Ngayawili on the 14th 72.0 mm at Mango Farm on the 1st 69.8 mm at Pirlangimpi on the 4th
Highest wind gust	100 km/h at Darwin Airport on the 17th 76 km/h at Tennant Creek Airport on the 22nd 76 km/h at Alice Springs Airport on the 25th

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Maps

Rainfall deciles

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Records

Record lowest total March rainfall
	Total rainfall for March 2009 (mm)	Previous lowest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Berrimah Research Farm	66.2	72.4	in 1978	43	352.9
Centre Island	5.6	10.0	in 1987	40	266.9
McArthur River Mine	5.4	13.4	in 1987	37	142.4

Lowest total March rainfall for at least 20 years
	Total rainfall for March 2009 (mm)	Most recent lower for March		Years since lower	Average for March
Victoria River Downs	0.2	0.0	in 1946	60	109.9
Old Delamere	5.2	0.0	in 1938	24	137.8
Darwin Airport	115.6	93.0	in 1987	22	324.7
Elliott	1.0	0.0	in 1987	22	90.5
Howard Springs	85.5	64.6	in 1987	22	381.2
Kidman Springs	14.0	11.0	in 1987	20	134.3
Waterloo	4.2	0.0	in 1987	20	105.2

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Record highest March temperature
	Highest temperature in March 2009 (°C)		Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Pirlangimpi	35.2	on the 21st	35.0	on the 30th in 1998	25	31.8

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Record highest March mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2009 (°C)	Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Yuendumu	37.2	37.0	in 1992	40	33.3
Mango Farm	35.4	= 35.4	in 2002	27	33.9
Timber Creek	37.5	= 37.5	in 1990	27	35.4
Pirlangimpi	32.9	32.7	in 1992	25	31.8

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Record highest March daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum temperature in March 2009 (°C)		Previous highest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Alice Springs Airport	29.6	on the 3rd	29.4	on the 4th in 1951	66	17.5
Jervois	29.4	on the 14th	29.2	on the 17th in 2004	39	19.2

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Record lowest March mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for March 2009 (°C)	Previous lowest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Larrimah	19.9	20.5	in 1997	42	22.6
Daly Waters AWS	19.4	20.6	in 1946	38	22.6
Katherine Aviation Museum	21.1	21.5	in 1997	21	23.2
Tindal RAAF	21.0	21.1	in 1997	20	23.1

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Summaries

Summary statistics for March 2009
	Maximum temperatures for March (°C)				Minimum temperatures for March (°C)				Rainfall for March (millimetres)
	Mean for March 2009	Diff from average	Highest for March 2009		Mean for March 2009	Diff from average	Lowest for March 2009		Total for March 2009	Average for March	Rank of March 2009	Fraction of March average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Aero	34.1	+1.3	36.3	22nd	22.3	−1.1	16.0	19th	50.4	250.8	low	20%
Black Point	32.0	+0.6	35.1	19th	26.0	+0.5	22.3	30th	154.4	249.5	average	62%
Bradshaw	37.6		39.5	22nd	23.1		19.0	19th	17.0
Cape Don	31.8		33.7	19th	26.5		22.6	30th	68.4	235.1	very low	29%
Central Arnhem Plateau	34.1		35.8	23rd	22.4		19.4	19th	26.0
Channel Point	32.9	+1.2	34.4	6th	24.9	+0.5	22.4	20th	109.4	390.3	very low	28%
Darwin Airport	33.2	+1.3	34.9	18th	24.8	+0.3	22.2	19th	115.6	324.7	very low	36%
Delamere Weapons Range	35.5	+1.2	37.7	22nd	21.6	−1.6	17.0	19th	10.2	196.1	low	5%
Douglas River	35.0	+1.4	36.6	30th	21.6	−1.5	17.1	19th	81.0	230.4	very low	35%
Dum In Mirrie AWS	32.6		34.6	18th	25.7		20.8	18th	191.6	364.4	low	53%
Jabiru Airport	35.4	+1.9	37.1	23rd	24.5	+0.2	22.1	20th	209.8	323.1	average	65%
Katherine Aviation Museum	35.3	+1.0	38.0	23rd	21.1	−2.1	16.5	19th	10.0	207.9	very low	5%
Mango Farm	35.4	+1.6	37.0	24th	22.8	−0.8	17.6	19th	148.8	215.6	average	69%
McCluer Island	31.2		33.1	19th	26.2		22.7	30th	268.8	229.9	average	117%
Middle Point AWS	34.6		36.9	22nd	23.2		18.9	19th	228.8
Noonamah AWS	34.5		36.4	22nd	23.2		17.9	19th	165.4
Pine Creek Council	34.8		36.3	23rd	22.8		19.5	19th	67.8
Pirlangimpi	32.9	+1.1	35.2	21st	24.0	0.0	20.8	18th	299.0	372.2	average	80%
Port Keats Aero	34.8		37.2	24th	23.5		21.2	29th	96.8
Tindal RAAF	35.4	+1.3	36.9	23rd	21.0	−2.1	16.0	19th	6.4	176.7	very low	4%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Alyangula Police	32.3	+0.2	33.8	6th	23.7	−0.9	21.8	27th	191.0	257.4	average	74%
Gove Airport	31.7	+0.5	33.5	7th	23.7	−0.2	21.5	29th	185.2	268.8	average	69%
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS	33.2		34.9	9th	22.1		19.4	20th	268.2
Maningrida Aero	32.8		36.2	22nd	24.4		21.9	19th	138.2
Milingimbi AWS	33.5		36.3	22nd	24.8		22.4	19th	85.2
Ngayawili	32.2		33.7	6th	24.2		21.8	19th	288.6
Warruwi	32.3	+0.9	34.7	20th	25.3	+0.2	23.3	14th	77.0	240.5	very low	32%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola	35.0	+1.6	37.2	22nd	21.4	−2.1	17.5	8th	34.4	156.6	low	22%
Bulman AWS	35.2		36.7	22nd	21.2		17.5	31st	64.2
Centre Island	34.6	+1.7	36.7	19th	27.1	+0.7	25.7	8th	5.6	266.9	lowest	2%
Daly Waters AWS	35.4	+0.8	37.1	23rd	19.4	−3.2	14.3	18th	64.0	110.4	average	58%
Larrimah	35.0	+0.9	37.0	23rd	19.9	−2.7	15.5	8th	47.4	155.7	low	30%
McArthur River Mine	37.3	+2.4	39.2	21st	22.6	−0.7	17.7	8th	5.4	142.4	lowest	4%
Ngukurr	35.9	+1.8	38.3	22nd	23.4	−0.5	21.0	10th	34.8	172.1	low	20%
Wollogorang	35.8	+1.3	37.5	22nd	20.9	−1.9	16.1	8th	5.5	167.0	very low	3%
Victoria (district 14F)
Kidman Springs	36.8	+1.3	39.1	23rd	21.6	−1.8	16.4	20th	14.0	134.3	very low	10%
Lajamanu	38.1	+3.6	41.1	23rd	21.0	−1.1	14.9	19th	0	81.3	lowest	0%
Timber Creek	37.5	+2.1	39.5	24th	21.3	−2.3	16.0	20th	20.8	172.5	very low	12%
Victoria River Downs	36.8	+1.7	38.5	23rd	21.5	−1.7	16.1	20th	0.2	109.9	very low	0%
Wave Hill	36.8	+1.3	39.0	23rd	20.4	−1.8	14.4	20th	46.1	121.5	average	38%
Barkly (district 15A)
Elliott	35.5	−0.2	38.1	22nd	20.6	−1.6	16.0	20th	1.0	90.5	very low	1%
Tennant Creek Airport	36.2	+1.9	39.0	23rd	23.0	−0.2	19.4	19th	0	57.0	lowest	0%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	35.3	+2.6	40.6	3rd	19.7	+2.2	12.5	18th	0.4	31.9	low	1%
Arltunga	34.5		40.2	3rd	19.6		12.4	6th	5.0	38.8	average	13%
Curtin Springs	36.0	+2.3	41.2	23rd	19.2	+0.8	14.0	5th	4.2	28.9	average	15%
Jervois	36.9	+2.2	42.1	3rd	20.8	+1.6	14.3	19th	0	30.6	lowest	0%
Kulgera	34.0	+1.8	42.0	2nd	19.3	+1.3	12.0	5th	20.2	32.7	average	62%
Papunya	37.8		41.3	3rd	21.2		15.1	18th	0	49.3	lowest	0%
Rabbit Flat	39.3	+3.5	42.2	23rd	21.2	−0.4	14.3	18th	10.0	75.1	low	13%
Territory Grape Farm	36.7	+2.4	40.8	3rd	20.5	+0.9	15.0	17th	0	19.4	lowest	0%
Walungurru	38.9		42.5	23rd	24.7		20.4	8th	8.6
Watarrka	36.3	+1.7	40.6	22nd	21.1	+0.4	14.5	7th	2.1	29.4	average	7%
Yuendumu	37.2	+3.9	39.8	3rd	21.2	+1.5	15.0	18th	2.0	46.1	average	4%
Yulara Aero	35.5	+1.0	40.7	23rd	19.4	+0.3	14.0	5th	8.6	33.4	average	26%

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Notes

Further information

NT Climate Services Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au

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