Wednesday, 1 August 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC22R0

Northern Territory in July 2012: Cool Dry Season Conditions

• 3rd lowest July minimum temperatures for NT
• 2nd coldest month on record at Alice Springs
• Yulara Aero ties coldest July on Record
• Cool streak for Alice Springs
  • a record 5 consecutive nights at or below -4 °C
• Darwin feels the chill

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Cold streak in Alice Springs

Following on from last month, Alice Springs continued to experience below average night-time temperatures almost throughout July (only two nights saw minimum temperatures above the monthly average of 4.1 °C). This month they endured 19 nights below 0 °C, this is just shy of the record set in 1977 with 20 nights. These cold nights were caused by a series of high pressure systems that propagated eastwards across southern Australia. These highs pushed cold, dry southern air into the territory which in turn dipped the night-time temperatures throughout most of the NT.

With a mean daily minimum temperature of -0.3 °C, Alice Springs ended the month with the second coldest minimum temperatures on record for any month (the record being -1.0 °C in 1977). Yulara Aero and a mean daily minimum temperature of 1 °C which ties the record set in July 2002.

Top End feels the chill

Throughout most of July, Darwin experienced cool nights and mild daytime temperatures. At Darwin Airport the temperatures dropped below 20 °C for 22 nights. The mean daily minimum temperature at Darwin Airport this month was 18.7 °C, 0.6 °C below average.

Dry and cool conditions prevailed over most of the NT this month. The rural areas also experienced low overnight minimal temperatures. Middle Point's overnight temperatures were about half a degree below average. Port Keats Aero and Bradshaw both had their second coolest July, in terms of mean daily maximum temperature. Groote Island Airport, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, had their lowest July mean daily maximum temperature in their 13 year record.

Rainfall

Primarily, very little rainfall was recorded this month due to persistent high pressure systems that propagated eastwards across Australia during July. Although, this is not unusual in what is typically a dry month, rainfall remained close to average over the northern half, while the southern half experienced below average rainfall.

The wettest overall was Manners Creek with 19.2 mm, due to the tail end of an eastward propagating trough, followed by Gove Airport with 19.0 mm, and then Soudan with 7.4 mm.

The wettest single day was at Manners Creek with 10.2 mm on the 10th, followed by Gove Airport with 9.2 mm on the 25th, and then Manners Creek with 9.0 mm on the 14th.

Temperature

The mean temperature for the NT this month was 18.0 °C which is 1.2 °C below normal for July. On average, the Northern Territory experienced above average temperatures across the central and northern parts of the Top End. Elsewhere, the average temperatures were slightly or well below average, due to persistent high pressure system with associated cool, dry and windy conditions across the Territory in July.

The warmest on average was Cape Don with 26.0 °C, followed by Jabiru Airport with 25.8 °C, and then Cape Wessel with 25.5 °C.

The coolest on average was Alice Springs Airport and Kulgera with 9.4 °C, followed by Curtin Springs with 9.9 °C, and then Yulara Aero with 10.0 °C.

Maximum temperature

When averaged across the NT the mean maximum temperature this month was 25.1 °C, which is 0.5 °C below the long-term average. Over the northern districts, the maximum temperatures were slightly above average due to near constant moist humid easterly winds. Elsewhere, maximum temperatures were below average due to persistent southerly winds.

The hottest day was at Ngukurr with 36.4 °C on the 13th this is a new record for them. followed by Bulman with 36.0 °C on the 13th, and then Douglas River on the 11th, Timber Creek and Middle Point on the 14th with 35.9 °C respectively. The warmest days on average were at Middle Point with 32.6 °C, followed by Noonamah with 32.5 °C, and then Oenpelli with 32.3 °C.

The coolest days on average were at Arltunga with 18.0 °C, followed by Kulgera with 18.2 °C, and then Alice Springs Airport and Yulara Aero with 19.1 °C. The coldest day was at Arltunga with 13.2 °C on the 2nd, followed by Arltunga again with 14.1 °C on the 3rd, and then Kulgera with 14.2 °C on the 1st.

Minimum temperature

In terms of minimum temperatures, July 2012 was the 3rd coolest July on record with the average minimum temperature for the NT of 11.0 °C which is 1.8 °C below average. The moist easterly winds and cloud cover kept minimum temperatures across the northeast of the Territory slightly above average. Across, the Alice Springs District and central parts of the Territory, persistent dry and cool southeasterly winds associated with a series of high pressure systems that moved eastwards across Australia kept the overnight temperatures below average.

The coldest night was at Alice Springs Airport with -5.2 °C on the 7th (this was the coldest night in 10 years at Alice Springs Airport) , followed by Alice Springs Airport with -4.9 °C on the 3rd, and then Kulgera with -4.8 °C on the 7th. The coolest nights on average were at Alice Springs Airport with -0.3 °C, this was the second coldest July on Record at Alice Springs. This was followed by Kulgera with 0.2 °C, and then Curtin Springs with 0.6 °C.

The warmest nights on average were at Cape Wessel with 22.9 °C, followed by Cape Don with 22.5 °C, and then McCluer Island with 22.4 °C. The warmest night was at Cape Don with 25.4 °C on the 16th, followed by McCluer Island with 24.7 °C on the 12th, and then Cape Don with 24.4 °C on the 10th, also Cape Wessel with 24.4 °C on the 15th.

Wind

The strongest wind gust was at Centre Island with 78 km/h on the 5th, followed by Tennant Creek Airport with 69 km/h on the 29th, and then McCluer Island with 67 km/h on the 28th.

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Extremes in July 2012
Hottest day	36.4 °C at Ngukurr on the 13th
Warmest days on average	32.6 °C at Middle Point
Coolest days on average	18.0 °C at Arltunga
Coldest day	13.2 °C at Arltunga on the 2nd
Coldest night	-5.2 °C at Alice Springs Airport on the 7th
Coolest nights on average	-0.3 °C at Alice Springs Airport
Warmest nights on average	22.9 °C at Cape Wessel
Warmest night	25.4 °C at Cape Don on the 16th
Warmest on average overall	26.0 °C at Cape Don
Coolest on average overall	9.4 °C at Alice Springs Airport 9.4 °C at Kulgera
Wettest overall	19.2 mm at Manners Creek
Wettest day	10.2 mm at Manners Creek on the 10th
Highest wind gust	78 km/h at Centre Island on the 5th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

 

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Record highest July temperature
	Highest temperature in July 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for July		Years of record	Average for July
McArthur River Mine	35.4	on the 13th	35.2	on the 2nd in 2009	35	30.0
Ngukurr	36.4	on the 13th	35.0	on the 20th in 2008	20	29.6

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Record lowest July temperature
	Lowest temperature in July 2012 (°C)		Previous coolest for July		Years of record	Average for July
Kulgera	-4.8	on the 7th	-4.7	on the 15th in 1982	32	5.0

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Record lowest July mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for July 2012 (°C)	Previous coolest for July		Years of record	Average for July
Kulgera	0.2	1.1	in 1983	31	5.0
Yulara Aero	1.0	= 1.0	in 2002	25	4.6
Watarrka	2.0	2.2	in 2002	21	6.3

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for July 2012
	Maximum temperatures for July (°C)				Minimum temperatures for July (°C)				Rainfall for July (millimetres)
	Mean for July 2012	Diff from average	Highest for July 2012		Mean for July 2012	Diff from average	Lowest for July 2012		Total for July 2012	Average for July	Rank of July 2012	Fraction of July average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Aero	31.5	-0.3	35.0	14th	16.0	-0.3	10.8	7th	0	0.2	v low	0%
Black Point	29.5	-0.2	31.7	13th	20.8	+0.1	17.1	22nd	0	3.7	lowest	0%
Bradshaw	30.9	-0.9	35.8	13th	13.3	-1.9	5.9	4th	0	0.4	v low	0%
Cape Don	29.4		31.2	10th	22.5		19.4	22nd	0	1.0	v low	0%
Central Arnhem Plateau	28.8		34.0	13th	15.6		11.3	23rd	0
Channel Point	27.9	-1.1	32.5	15th	15.8	-1.2	11.5	23rd	0	0.1	lowest	0%
Darwin Airport	30.6	+0.1	33.8	15th	18.7	-0.6	15.7	3rd	0	1.2	lowest	0%
Delamere Weapons Range	28.7	-0.8	35.1	13th	15.1	+0.4	11.4	4th	0	0.4	v low	0%
Douglas River	30.6	-1.1	35.9	11th	13.1	+0.4	3.4	4th	0	2.7	lowest	0%
Dum In Mirrie	29.8	-0.3	33.7	17th	17.4	-0.8	12.6	23rd	0	0	v low
Jabiru Airport	32.2	+0.3	35.2	13th	19.3	+0.8	12.1	22nd	0	3.1	lowest	0%
Katherine Country Club	30.5		35.6	16th	14.2		7.9	23rd	0
Mango Farm	30.8	-0.8	35.2	14th	14.2	-0.8	8.1	22nd	0	2.1	lowest	0%
McCluer Island	27.0	-0.2	28.8	13th	22.4	-0.3	19.8	6th	0.8	1.2	high	67%
Middle Point	32.6	0.0	35.9	14th	13.9	-0.6	7.4	22nd	0	0.5	v low	0%
Noonamah	32.5		35.5	14th	16.0		9.6	23rd	0
Oenpelli	32.3	+0.2	35.6	14th	18.4	0.0	11.7	23rd	0	2.1	lowest	0%
Pirlangimpi	31.2	+0.1	34.1	15th	18.9	+0.6	14.8	22nd	0.6	3.0	average	20%
Port Keats Aero	30.3	-1.1	33.6	17th	16.8	+0.2	12.1	24th
Tindal RAAF	30.1	0.0	35.4	13th	12.8	-0.9	4.7	5th	0	3.1	lowest	0%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Cape Wessel	28.0		29.8	25th	22.9		21.5	29th	6.0	16.7	average	36%
Gove Airport	27.1	-0.7	30.5	13th	20.5	+0.3	14.7	1st	19.0	18.4	average	103%
Groote Eylandt Airport	27.3	-1.6	32.3	14th	16.6	+1.4	10.0	21st	0.4	3.8	low	11%
Maningrida Aero	30.4		32.7	27th	17.9		10.7	22nd	0
Milingimbi	30.4		32.8	10th	18.7		13.5	22nd	2.0	2.0	average	100%
Ngayawili	28.6	-0.9	31.5	10th	19.3	-0.3	15.3	22nd	3.4	3.9	high	87%
North East Island	24.9		27.5	14th	21.2		19.5	22nd	2.0	2.0	average	100%
Warruwi	29.4	+0.8	31.7	14th	21.0	-0.2	17.8	6th	0	1.8	lowest	0%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Bulman	29.8		36.0	13th	13.4		5.3	22nd	0	1.5	v low	0%
Centre Island	25.3	-0.9	30.1	14th	18.0	-0.5	14.7	4th	1.4	1.8	average	78%
McArthur River Mine	29.5	-0.5	35.4	13th	11.5	-0.7	3.2	5th	0.8	2.4	high	33%
Ngukurr	29.3		35.3	13th	13.7		6.2	6th	0
Wollogorang	28.0	-1.3	35.1	13th	11.4	-0.2	6.0	5th	2.5	1.4	high	179%
Victoria (district 14F)
Kidman Springs	28.8	-1.5	34.9	15th	10.9	-1.6	6.8	4th	0	2.6	lowest	0%
Lajamanu	25.6	-1.1	32.9	11th	8.0	-1.1	2.9	7th	0	4.0	lowest	0%
Timber Creek	29.9	-0.7	35.9	13th	15.5	+0.8	10.9	8th	0	1.9	lowest	0%
Victoria River Downs	28.2	-1.0	34.1	13th	8.3	-2.7	2.0	3rd	0	2.9	lowest	0%
Wave Hill	26.3	-2.1	33.1	12th	9.0	-1.7	3.6	29th	0	4.5	lowest	0%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs	25.9	-0.8	34.0	12th	9.6	-1.0	5.1	3rd	0.2	4.4	high	5%
Elliott	26.8	-1.6	33.7	13th	11.3	+0.1	5.4	7th	0	3.0	lowest	0%
Tennant Creek Airport	23.5	-1.1	32.2	13th	11.1	-1.2	7.6	4th	0	4.9	lowest	0%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	19.1	-0.6	28.7	11th	-0.3	-4.4	-5.2	7th	0	15.0	lowest	0%
Arltunga	18.0	-1.8	27.6	11th	2.4	-0.9	-4.2	17th	0.8	10.3	average	8%
Curtin Springs	19.3	-0.9	27.7	11th	0.6	-3.1	-3.0	10th	0	13.0	lowest	0%
Jervois	20.4	-1.5	29.6	11th	4.9	-0.3	-0.8	7th	2.2	14.3	average	15%
Kulgera	18.2	-0.7	27.2	11th	0.2	-4.8	-4.8	7th	0	12.4	lowest	0%
Rabbit Flat	24.5	-1.6	31.7	11th	5.1	-1.8	-2.0	5th	0	5.1	v low	0%
Territory Grape Farm	21.1	-1.4	28.9	11th	2.7	-2.5	-0.6	7th	0	4.6	lowest	0%
Walungurru	21.9		26.2	12th	7.7		3.1	10th	0	18.6	v low	0%
Watarrka	19.7	-2.0	27.2	11th	2.0	-4.3	-3.2	10th	0.1	15.9	average	1%
Yulara Aero	19.1	-1.4	27.0	11th	1.0	-3.6	-2.2	16th	0	20.3	lowest	0%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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