Tuesday, 1 March 2011 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC22R0

Northern Territory in February 2011: Darwin Airport smashes rainfall records

• Tropical Cyclone Carlos forms over Darwin
• Wettest month on record at Darwin Airport
• Darwin Airport measures wettest day on record
• Darwin Airport measures coolest February day on record

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Tropical Cyclone Carlos forms over Darwin

Late in the day on 13 February a tropical low pressure system developed over Australia’s Top End, centred about 50 km north of Katherine. As this system moved to the northwest, exceptionally wet conditions began to develop over Darwin and rural areas, becoming notably intense late on the 15th. It was about this same time that the system emerged over Darwin Harbour. Conditions were ripe for the tropical low to intensify as it moved over the warm ocean waters. The low pressure system became Tropical Cyclone Carlos, of category 1 intensity, while over Darwin Harbour on the 16th. The cyclone remained slow moving over the city of Darwin for over 24 hours. By early on the 17th, the system had moved southeast of Darwin and was downgraded to a tropical low. Due primarily to the slow movement of the storm, several rainfall records were broken during this three day period.

Darwin Airport breaks several rainfall records

Heavy rain from the slow moving TC Carlos added to the already wet conditions and produced an exceptionally wet February. Darwin Airport recorded 367.6 mm of rain in the 24 hour period to 9 am on 16 February. The previous wettest day for Darwin Airport was recorded on 3 January 1997 when Tropical Cyclone Rachel brought 290.4 mm of rain. The Darwin Airport 3-day total (15 to 17 February) was 684.8 mm, breaking the previous 3-day record established between 8th December 1998 and 10th December 1998 when Severe Tropical Cyclone Thelma brought 462.0 mm of rain. In the 7-days period from the 13th to 19th Darwin Airport measured 847.4mm. The previous record for the wettest week at Darwin Airport was 615.8mm set in 6 to 12 January 1991. Moreover, Darwin Airport accumulated 1110.2 mm of rain, breaking the previous monthly record of 1013.6 mm set in March of 1977.

Darwin Airport breaks temperature record

As pre-TC Carlos approached Darwin, the maximum temperature for the 15th at Darwin Airport reached only 24.8° C. The previous record low February maximum temperature was 25.6° C set on the 3rd in 1956.

Heavy Rain at Jabiru

On the 22nd, a thunderstorm at Jabiru dumped a total of 190 mm of rain in a day, including 70.2 mm in 34 minutes and 119.8 mm in 94 minutes.

Rainfall

On the 16th, again due to pre-TC Carlos, nearly all recording stations around the Greater Darwin region measured their highest 24 hour rainfall on record: Leanyer* recorded the highest with 344.2 mm at which point the rain gauge over flowed, Darwin Airport recorded 367.6 mm, Channel Island had 311.2 mm and Palmerston had 300.0 mm which were all daily rainfall records. New 3-day rainfall records were also set with Channel Island receiving the highest 3-day rainfall accumulation with 808.1 mm in the 3-day period from the 15th to the 17th. During the same 3-day period, Fort Hill Wharf recorded 781 mm and 684.8 mm fell at Darwin Airport. On the 18th, as ex-TC Carlos moved to the south west, more rainfall records were broken when 230.2 mm fell at Mango Farm.

The wettest overall was Leanyer* with 1179.6 mm which is an underestimate because the rain guage overflowed on the 16th. The next wettest was at Channel Island with 1147.8 mm followed by Darwin Airport with 1110.2 mm; this marks the highest total February rainfall on record at each of these sites.

The driest overall was at Alexandria with 1.4 mm.

The wettest single day was on the 16th at Darwin Airport with 367.6 mm, followed by Geriatric Park with 363.2 mm on the 15th and then Leanyer* with 344.2 on the 16th.

Tropical cyclone Carlos brought the highest February daily rainfall on record to most sites in the Darwin-Daly rainfall district.

Temperature

The mean maximum temperatures for the month remained cooler than normal throughout the Territory. The mean minimum temperatures were cooler in the northern half and warmer in the south.  The average mean maximum temperature in the Territory for the February was 33.16°C and the Territory average minimum temperature was 23.03°C.

Maximum temperature

A persistent monsoon trough, along with the rainy weather over the northern half of the Northern Territory during the month contributed to the below normal maximum temperatures in the region. Average maximum temperatures were 3 to 4 degrees below normal in central parts of the Territory.

The warmest days on average were at Walungurru with 37.4 °C, followed by Yulara 35.6°C.

The hottest day was on the 4th in far southern NT when Walungurru reached 42.0 °C , followed by Curtin Springs with 41.0 °C and Yulara Aero measured 40.0 °C, all on the same day.

The coolest days on average were at Central Arnhem Plateau with 29.8 °C, followed by Black Point with 30.1 °C and then Channel Point with 30.4 °C.

The coldest day was at Watarrka with 22.4 °C and Yulara Aero with 22.8 °C on the 6th when ex-TC Yasi brought thick cloud and rain to the far southern NT. The next coldest day was at Batchelor Aero with 23.9 °C on the 16th.

Some sites, including Darwin Airport, had their coldest February day (lowest maximum temperature) on record. Two sites had their lowest February mean daily maximum temperature on record, these were Channel Point and Delamere Weapons Range.

Minimum temperature

Minimum temperatures over the northern half of the Territory remained cooler than normal where as in the southern parts they remained warmer than normal.

The coldest night was at Kulgera with 14.5 °C on the 23rd, followed by Arltunga with 14.9 °C on the 26th.

The coolest nights on average were at Arltunga with 20.7 °C, followed by Kulgera with 21.3 °C.

The warmest nights on average were at  Centre Island with 25.6 °C, followed by Dum In Mirrie with 25.2 °C.

The warmest night was at Centre Island with 29.1 °C on the 4th, followed by Dum In Mirrie with 29.0 °C also on the 4th.

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

Wind

This months highest wind gusts were all associated with TC Carlos. The strongest wind gust was at was at Darwin Airport with 98 km/h on the 15th, followed by Point Fawcett with 91 km/h on the 16th, and then Darwin Airport with 83 km/h on the 16th.

Flooding

Flooding occured in the Daly and Adelaide Rivers as a result of the heavy rainfall from TC Carlos.

---

Extremes in February 2011
Hottest day	42.0 °C at Walungurru on the 4th
Warmest days on average	37.4 °C at Walungurru
Coolest days on average	29.8 °C at Central Arnhem Plateau
Coldest day	22.4 °C at Watarrka on the 6th
Coldest night	14.5 °C at Kulgera on the 23rd
Coolest nights on average	20.7 °C at Arltunga
Warmest nights on average	26.2 °C at North East Island
Warmest night	29.1 °C at Centre Island on the 4th
Warmest on average overall	30.7 °C at Walungurru
Coolest on average overall	26.1 °C at Central Arnhem Plateau
Wettest overall	1179.6 mm at Leanyer*
Driest overall	1.4 mm at Alexandria
Wettest day	442.5 mm at Daly River Police Station on the 18th
Highest wind gust	98 km/h at Darwin Airport on the 15th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

---

Record highest February daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall (mm)		Previous wettest		Years of record
Darwin Airport	339.6	on the 16th	250.2	on the 18th in 1955	70
Tipperary	222.8	on the 18th	177.8	on the 5th in 1942	41
Darwin River Dam	216.0	on the 15th	115.0	on the 14th in 1975	39
Larrakeyah	234.6	on the 17th	210.5	on the 20th in 2008	35
Channel Island	311.2	on the 16th	158.8	on the 16th in 1938	34
Jabiru Airport	190.4	on the 22nd	155.8	on the 5th in 1980	18
McMinns Lagoon	205.0	on the 16th	135.4	on the 23rd in 1997	34
Atula	119.6	on the 22nd	119.2	on the 28th in 2010	32
Humpty Doo Collard Road	214.2	on the 15th	144.4	on the 23rd in 1997	30
Mango Farm	230.2	on the 18th	123.0	on the 11th in 1981	28
Elizabeth Valley	158.7	on the 16th	121.4	on the 17th in 2003	22
Karama*	191.7	on the 17th	190.8	on the 22nd in 1997	23
Stokes Hill	288.4	on the 16th	148.3	on the 6th in 1969	18
Leanyer*	344.2	on the 16th	179.2	on the 20th in 2008	20
Territory Wildlife Park	173.0	on the 15th	108.2	on the 18th in 2009	18
Shoal Bay	284.2	on the 16th	210.4	on the 22nd in 1997	15
CSIRO Berrimah	192.4	on the 17th	181.0	on the 20th in 2008	18

---

Record highest total February rainfall
	Total rainfall (mm)	Previous wettest		Years of record	Average
Warruwi	540.8	501.8	in 1991	81	235.9
Darwin Airport	1068.0	814.5	in 1969	70	364.6
Darwin River Dam	829.2	599.0	in 1984	39	324.8
Channel Island	1147.8	756.5	in 2003	35	342.6
McMinns Lagoon	862.9	855.4	in 2003	34	371.6
Humpty Doo Collard Road	836.7	724.2	in 2003	30	348.3
Stokes Hill	912.8	668.0	in 1969	18	306.4
Karama*	878.5	716.4	in 2003	22	375.1
Elizabeth Valley	883.1	762.0	in 2003	21	348.4
Leanyer*	1179.6	824.6	in 2008	20	411.6
CSIRO Berrimah	800.2	769.4	in 2003	17	431.7
Shoal Bay	973.1	666.0	in 2008	15	419.1

---

---

Record lowest February daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature (°C)		Previous coolest		Years of record	Average
Darwin Airport	24.8	on the 15th	25.6	on the 3rd in 1956	68	31.4
Mango Farm	25.0	on the 17th	25.5	on the 16th in 2003	28	33.1
Batchelor Aero	23.9	on the 16th	25.2	on the 3rd in 2004	15	32.2
Dum In Mirrie	26.1	on the 15th	26.7	on the 19th in 2008	12	31.0

---

Record lowest February mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)	Previous coolest		Years of record	Average
Channel Point	30.4	30.5	in 2008	16	31.5
Delamere Weapons Range	31.9	32.1	in 2004	12	34.2

---

Record lowest February mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)	Previous coolest		Years of record	Average
Black Point	24.8	24.9	in 1994	19	25.6
Batchelor Aero	23.4	23.6	in 2006	15	23.8
Point Fawcett	24.7	24.9	in 2003	11	25.6
Groote Eylandt Airport	24.4	24.6	in 2007	11	25.0
Pine Creek Council	23.3	23.4	in 2002	10	23.8

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

---

Summary statistics for February 2011
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean	Diff from average	Highest		Mean	Diff from average	Lowest		Total	Average	Rank	Fraction of average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Aero	30.8	-1.4	34.5	3rd	23.4	-0.4	21.6	14th	608.0	367.7	v high	165%
Black Point	30.1	-0.9	32.4	22nd	24.8	-0.8	21.9	15th	520.2	282.6	v high	184%
Bradshaw	33.1		36.7	3rd	24.5		22.8	12th	388.0
Central Arnhem Plateau	29.8		34.4	1st	22.4		20.8	12th	418.6
Channel Point	30.4	-1.1	32.7	3rd	24.8	-0.2	22.0	1st	490.3	430.1	high	114%
Darwin Airport	30.5	-0.9	33.1	3rd	24.5	-0.2	22.1	16th	1110.2	364.6	highest	293%
Delamere Weapons Range	31.9	-2.3	35.6	3rd	23.5	-0.4	21.4	22nd	358.4	234.4	high	153%
Douglas River	32.3	-0.8	35.8	3rd	23.5	-0.2	21.3	1st	315.4	291.1	average	108%
Dum In Mirrie	30.7	-0.3	32.9	5th	25.2	0.0	23.2	15th	663.4	459.3	high	144%
Jabiru Airport	31.9	-1.2	36.2	3rd	24.2	-0.2	22.3	16th	726.0	364.7	v high	199%
Katherine Aviation Museum	32.2	-1.8	35.7	3rd	23.7	-0.2	22.3	9th	359.6	244.9	high	147%
Middle Point	31.6		35.5	3rd	23.8		22.6	15th	727.4
Noonamah	31.9		36.2	3rd	23.9		22.7	15th	891.0
Pine Creek Council	31.3	-1.2	34.6	1st	23.3	-0.5	21.7	16th	473.0
Point Fawcett	30.7	-0.7	32.5	1st	24.7	-0.9	22.5	10th	1044.8	260.9	highest	400%
Point Stuart	30.6		33.9	3rd	25.1		23.3	7th	436.4
Port Keats Aero	31.4		34.0	3rd	24.4		22.4	1st	424.2
Tindal RAAF	32.4	-1.3	35.7	3rd	23.8	-0.3	22.7	9th	294.4	248.6	high	118%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Alyangula Police	31.5	-0.9	34.6	3rd	25.1	-0.5	22.4	15th	252.2	244.0	average	103%
Gove Airport	31.0	-0.4	34.0	3rd	23.7	-0.8	21.9	9th	403.4	278.4	high	145%
Groote Eylandt Airport	31.9	-0.7	35.5	3rd	24.4	-0.6	21.7	9th	287.8	272.4	average	106%
Maningrida Aero	30.8		33.7	3rd	24.2		21.9	16th	801.0
Milingimbi	31.2		34.6	3rd	24.2		22.1	16th	500.2
Ngayawili	30.8	-0.4	33.4	3rd	24.9	-0.7	22.7	16th	449.4	361.7	high	124%
North East Island	32.0		33.6	4th	26.2		23.3	9th	233.0	169.3	high	138%
Warruwi	30.8	-0.6	34.1	3rd	24.6	-0.6	22.2	16th	540.8	235.9	highest	229%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola	32.2	-1.6	36.8	3rd	23.9	-0.8	22.6	13th	243.2	220.9	average	110%
Bulman	32.5		37.2	3rd	23.7		22.0	16th	302.0
Centre Island	31.7	-1.2	36.2	3rd	25.6	-1.0	23.0	13th	548.6	268.8	v high	204%
Daly Waters	32.6	-2.2	36.2	2nd	23.3	-0.2	21.2	22nd	235.2	178.7	average	132%
Larrimah	32.4	-2.0	37.0	3rd	23.2	-0.5	21.9	5th	258.6	207.2	high	125%
McArthur River Mine	33.5	-1.7	38.7	3rd	24.2	-0.5	22.7	16th	265.2	184.5	high	144%
Ngukurr	33.0	-1.9	38.0	3rd	24.3	-0.4	23.4	6th	203.5	177.3	average	115%
Wollogorang	32.5	-1.9	37.4	3rd	23.8	-0.3	22.2	16th	251.9	248.5	average	101%
Victoria (district 14F)
Kidman Springs	33.1	-2.5	36.7	3rd	24.1	-0.6	22.1	22nd	183.8	199.6	average	92%
Lajamanu	33.4	-2.5	37.0	3rd	22.9	-0.7	20.1	1st	267.8	144.8	high	185%
Timber Creek	33.2	-1.9	37.4	3rd	24.5	-0.1	22.2	12th	247.7	232.7	average	106%
Victoria River Downs	33.1	-2.3	37.1	3rd	24.1	-0.4	21.7	22nd	175.8	162.0	average	109%
Wave Hill	33.4	-2.5	37.6	3rd	23.4	-0.4	21.6	22nd	100.9	175.1	average	58%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs	33.2	-3.1	36.6	3rd	23.5	-0.7	21.9	25th	138.2	99.2	high	139%
Tennant Creek Airport	33.2	-2.5	36.1	2nd	22.9	-1.6	20.9	1st	298.2	118.6	high	251%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	33.4	-1.7	36.2	19th	21.5	+0.7	16.7	23rd	111.2	41.3	high	269%
Arltunga	32.6		36.0	19th	20.7		14.9	26th	187.8	39.5	v high	475%
Curtin Springs	35.2	-1.3	41.0	4th	22.5	+0.9	16.5	7th	73.0	25.2	high	290%
Kulgera	33.5	-2.1	37.3	4th	21.3	-0.2	14.5	23rd	147.8	33.9	v high	436%
Papunya	34.9		39.1	4th	22.3		18.3	23rd	66.7	39.8	high	168%
Rabbit Flat	35.5	-1.6	39.0	3rd	23.5	-0.1	21.0	13th	158.6	107.8	high	147%
Territory Grape Farm	34.5	-1.8	36.6	20th	21.7	0.0	18.9	23rd	79.2	70.2	high	113%
Walungurru	37.4		42.0	4th	24.1		18.2	7th	64.4
Yuendumu	34.1	-1.1	37.8	4th	22.0	0.0	19.8	1st	85.3	64.0	high	133%
Yulara Aero	35.6	-1.3	40.0	4th	23.0	+0.8	16.6	7th	86.0	39.4	v high	218%
Offshore Islands (district 200)
Northern Endeavour	32.7	-0.3	34.0	23rd	27.8	+0.8	25.0	9th

Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

---

---