Monday, 3 September 2012 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0

Northern Territory in August 2012: Cold start with a warm end

The first signs of transition from the dry season were evident in August. Early in the month, a typical dry season synoptic pattern brought cold, dry air across the Northern Territory. Indicative of this were several stations recording record low temperatures. Later in the month, increased temperatures across northern Australia encouraged the southern pre-frontal troughs to extend further north. These interrupted the sub tropical ridge, a persistent area of high pressure across the southern half of the continent, bringing more humid easterly winds across the Top End and north easterlies to the Alice Springs district. Morning fogs were present along the Top End coasts and valleys on 7 days, while the hotter winds kept minimum temperatures higher in the Alice. The sub tropical ridge was still the major influence, bringing fresh and dry southeasterly winds across the Top End.

• Darwin Airport records lowest August temperature in 22 years
• Alice Springs' second longest dry spell on record
• Bradshaw sets new record for lowest August temperature

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Darwin experiences a change

The transition out of the dry season can bring some very interesting weather, particularly the effect on temperatures. Early in the month, a typical dry season synoptic pattern still influenced the weather and cooler, dry southeasterly winds allowed Darwin airport to record the lowest ever August temperature of 13.1°C on the 13th. The previous record of 13.2°C on the 2 August 1990 had stood for 22 years. Toward the end of the month warmer temperatures returned to northern Australia. Darwin airport recorded 35.6°C on the 27th, the hottest day since 27 November 2011 the previous year.

Top End feels low temperatures

Under the influence of a high pressure system in the south, the 13th and 14th saw new August minimum temperature records across the Top End. On the 13th, Darwin Airport's minimum temperature dropped to 13.1 °C. Middle point measured a record 5.0 °C also on the 13th. On the 14th Bradshaw dropped to 6.9 °C, which broke the old record of 9.0 °C set on 3 August 2003.

Morning fogs obscure the previous record at Darwin Airport

The more humid easterly winds brought low level moisture to much of the Top End. This resulted in morning fogs on a record 9 days in August, beating the previous number of 7 days back in 2004. The average number of days for fog in August is 1.9 days.

Record dry in southern NT

A strong sub tropical ridge, especially a persistent area of high pressure over southern WA, maintained very dry conditions across the Territory all winter which persisted throughout August. Alice Springs, Yulara, Territory Grape Farm, and Walungurru did not record any rainfall this month and have tied 2002 as the driest winter (June-August) on record.

Alice Springs Airport has not record any rainfall since 24 April this year. This is the second longest dry spell at Alice Springs Airport with 129 days so far this year (to 31 August). The record longest dry spell was in 1972 when no rain was recorded as Alice Springs Airport for 147 days.

Rainfall

Throughout most of August, the strong sub tropical ridge maintained cool and dry conditions across the Territory. Easterly winds brought shallow moisture across the Top End, which resulted in a few isolated showers. The same high pressure systems blocked cold fronts from reaching the Alice Springs district. Stations which would usually record 5 to 10 mm during August were left dry this month. The wettest overall was 12.2 mm at Conways, followed by North East Island with 5.0 mm, and then Gove Airport with 2.0 mm. The wettest single days were all at Conways with 6.0 mm on the 19th, followed by 2.6 mm on the 20th, 1.6mm falling on the 3rd and on the 10th.

Temperature

When averaged across the Territory the mean temperature for the NT this month was 19.89 °C which was 0.31 °C below average.

The warmest on average was Cape Don with 26.2 °C, followed by Cape Wessel with 26.0 °C, and then Jabiru Airport with 25.6 °C.

The coolest on average was Arltunga with 13.6 °C, and then Kulgera with 14.5 °C, followed by Alice Springs Airport with 14.6 °C.

Maximum temperature

The mean maximum temperature for August was 28.98 °C which is 1.18 °C above the long term average. Most of the territory was at least one degree above the long term average, except for the Darwin-Daly and Roper river catchment areas which were around one degree cooler than the long term average. Afternoon seabreezes combined with light, moist easterly winds were major mitigating factors which assisted in reducing temperatures along the coast.

The hottest days were at Middle Point with 38.1 °C on the 26th, followed by Noonamah and Middle Point with 38.0 °C on the 26th and 28th respectively, then Bradshaw and Middle Point with 37.9 °C both on the 24th.

The warmest days on average were at Middle Point with 34.5 °C, followed by Noonamah with 34.4 °C, and then Jabiru Airport with 34.0 °C.

The coolest days on average were at Kulgera with 23.3 °C, followed by Arltunga with 23.7 °C, and then Alice Springs Airport with 24.9 °C.

The coldest days in August were all recorded at Arltunga with 16.9 °C on the 11th, 17.0 °C on the 12th, and 17.2 °C on the 18th.

Three sites had their highest August temperature on record, including Pirlangimpi, Batchelor Aero and Middle Point. McCluer Island had their coldest August day (lowest maximum temperature) on record. Channel Point had their lowest August mean daily maximum temperature on record.

Minimum temperature

Cool, dry southeasterly winds were the main contributing factor to the below average minimum temperatures. The mean minimum temperature for August was 10.72 °C which was 1.8 °C below the long term mean minimum. Minimum temperatures were below across the Territory this month. With a mean daily minimum temperature of 17.8 °C, Darwin Airport tied with the record lowest August mean daily minimum temperature, a record set in 2002. Middle Point, Mango Farm, and Dum-in-Mirrie also had their lowest August mean daily minimum temperature on record. Five sites had their lowest August temperature on record, including Darwin Airport and Bradshaw.

The coldest nights were at Arltunga with -4.7 °C on the 2nd, -3.7 °C on the 3rd and -3.6 °C on the 13th. Alice Springs Airport also recorded -3.6 °C on the 1st.

The coolest nights on average were at Arltunga with 3.5 °C, followed by Alice Springs Airport with 4.3 °C, and then Yulara Aero with 4.7 °C.

The warmest nights on average were at Cape Wessel with 22.7 °C, followed by McCluer Island with 22.5 °C, and then Cape Don with 22.0 °C.

The warmest night was at McCluer Island with 24.4 °C on the 27th, and then 24.3 °C at Cape Don on the 25th, and Darwin NTC and McCluer Island on the 26th, followed by McCluer Island with 24.1 °C on the 25th.

Wind

Fresh southeastly winds, resulting from a strong sub tropical ridge, dominated the Territory during August. The strongest wind gust was at Darwin NTC with 83 km/h on the 17th, followed by McCluer Island with 69 km/h on the 12th. Darwin NTC also registered 69 km/h on the 18th, Yulara Aero with 69 km/h on the 24th, and then Centre Island with 67 km/h on the 19th.

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Extremes in August 2012
Hottest day	38.1 °C at Middle Point on the 26th
Warmest days on average	34.4 °C at Middle Point
Coolest days on average	23.3 °C at Kulgera
Coldest day	16.9 °C at Arltunga on the 11th
Coldest night	-4.7 °C at Arltunga on the 2nd
Coolest nights on average	3.5 °C at Arltunga
Warmest nights on average	22.7 °C at Cape Wessel
Warmest night	24.4 °C at McCluer Island on the 27th
Warmest on average overall	26.1 °C at Cape Don
Coolest on average overall	13.5 °C at Arltunga
Wettest overall	12.2 mm at Conways
Wettest day	6.0 mm at Conways on the 19th
Highest wind gust	83 km/h at Darwin NTC on the 17th

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

 

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Record highest August temperature
	Highest temperature in August 2012 (°C)		Previous warmest for August		Years of record	Average for August
Pirlangimpi	35.6	on the 28th	= 35.6	on the 26th in 1998	30	32.0
Batchelor Aero	36.6	on the 26th	= 36.6	on the 25th in 2010	16	33.3
Middle Point	38.1	on the 26th	37.5	on the 31st in 2009	12	33.9

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Record lowest August daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature in August 2012 (°C)		Previous coolest for August		Years of record	Average for August
McCluer Island	24.5	on the 13th	25.0	on the 16th in 1999	12	27.8

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Record lowest August mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for August 2012 (°C)	Previous coolest for August		Years of record	Average for August
Channel Point	28.6	28.7	in 1997	17	29.5

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Record lowest August temperature
	Lowest temperature in August 2012 (°C)		Previous coolest for August		Years of record	Average for August
Darwin Airport	13.1	on the 13th	13.2	on the 2nd in 1990	72	20.4
Yuendumu	-1.4	on the 6th	-1.2	on the 4th in 2003	44	8.5
Bradshaw	6.9	on the 14th	9.0	on the 3rd in 2003	14	16.6
Arltunga	-4.7	on the 2nd	-4.5	on the 16th in 2002	12	5.2
Middle Point	5.0	on the 13th	7.4	on the 5th in 2006	12	15.1

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Record lowest August mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for August 2012 (°C)	Previous coolest for August		Years of record	Average for August
Darwin Airport	17.8	= 17.8	in 2002	71	20.4
Daly Waters	8.6	9.4	in 2011	42	13.0
Mango Farm	11.5	12.4	in 2002	32	15.9
Elliott	10.0	10.4	in 2002	30	13.3
Lajamanu	8.5	= 8.5	in 2002	17	11.1
Dum In Mirrie	17.2	17.4	in 2002	13	19.3
McCluer Island	22.5	22.7	in 2007	11	23.2
Middle Point	12.3	13.5	in 2002	11	15.1

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for August 2012
	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	33.2	-0.1	36.6	26th	14.5	-2.7	9.8	2nd	0.6	2.8	average	21%
Black Point	30.2	-0.3	32.6	25th	20.0	-1.2	17.0	13th	0	1.3	lowest	0%
Bradshaw	33.7	+0.3	37.9	24th	13.7	-2.9	6.9	14th	0	0.1	lowest	0%
Cape Don	30.3		32.0	26th	22.0		19.9	13th	0	1.2	lowest	0%
Central Arnhem Plateau	30.8		34.5	24th	13.8		8.8	13th	0
Channel Point	28.6	-0.9	32.4	20th	16.1	-2.3	11.5	14th	0	4.8	lowest	0%
Darwin Airport	31.4	0.0	35.6	27th	17.8	-2.6	13.1	13th	0	5.0	lowest	0%
Delamere Weapons Range	32.1	+0.5	36.6	26th	14.7	-1.3	9.6	14th	0	0.4	lowest	0%
Douglas River	33.8	+0.3	37.8	24th	11.3	-2.9	5.6	2nd	0	1.4	lowest	0%
Dum In Mirrie	29.8	-0.8	32.6	10th	17.2	-2.1	12.9	1st	0.4	3.5	average	11%
Jabiru Airport	34.0	+0.3	37.4	26th	17.2	-2.0	14.0	13th	0	2.8	lowest	0%
Katherine Country Club	32.8		36.8	24th	11.8		7.0	13th	0
Mango Farm	33.2	-0.2	37.5	25th	11.5	-4.4	7.0	13th	0	2.1	lowest	0%
McCluer Island	27.2	-0.6	29.9	23rd	22.5	-0.7	20.5	14th	0	0.4	lowest	0%
Middle Point	34.5	+0.6	38.1	26th	12.3	-2.8	5.0	13th	0	0.8	lowest	0%
Noonamah	34.4		38.0	26th	13.5		8.6	13th	0.6
Oenpelli	33.7	0.0	36.1	24th	15.6	-2.9	12.5	13th	0	1.0	lowest	0%
Pirlangimpi	32.8	+0.8	35.6	28th	18.0	-1.1	14.1	14th	0	6.6	lowest	0%
Port Keats Aero	31.6	-0.3	34.1	26th	14.7	-2.8	11.0	14th	0.6	0.3	high	200%
Tindal RAAF	32.5	+0.4	36.6	26th	11.5	-3.9	4.7	12th	0	1.3	lowest	0%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Cape Wessel	29.4		30.9	25th	22.7		21.1	12th	0	7.8	lowest	0%
Gove Airport	28.6	0.0	30.9	22nd	17.6	-1.6	13.7	17th	2.2	5.5	average	40%
Groote Eylandt Airport	29.6	-0.5	33.1	26th	13.9	-1.3	8.4	13th	0.8	1.0	high	80%
Maningrida Aero	31.3		35.1	27th	16.1		12.2	12th	0
Milingimbi	30.7		33.7	27th	17.7		12.4	13th	0	3.5	lowest	0%
Ngayawili	30.4	0.0	33.3	28th	18.7	-0.6	15.8	12th	1.0	1.2	high	83%
North East Island	26.5		28.8	25th	20.8		18.6	16th	5.0	1.4	high	357%
Warruwi	29.5	+0.3	32.8	31st	20.6	-1.1	16.9	13th	0	0.5	lowest	0%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Bulman	32.4		36.0	24th	10.9		6.0	12th	0	0.9	lowest	0%
Centre Island	27.6	-0.2	30.9	29th	18.1	-1.4	15.2	3rd	1.6	1.6	average	100%
Daly Waters	32.5	+1.5	36.8	26th	8.6	-4.4	3.3	13th	0	0.4	lowest	0%
McArthur River Mine	32.7	+0.8	37.0	25th	10.6	-2.8	4.4	13th	0	0.4	lowest	0%
Ngukurr	31.7		35.1	23rd	12.6		6.8	12th	0
Wollogorang	31.5	+0.4	34.8	24th	9.6	-2.6	3.3	13th	0	0.6	lowest	0%
Victoria (district 14F)
Lajamanu	30.5	+0.9	36.1	30th	8.5	-2.6	2.5	14th	0	0.8	lowest	0%
Timber Creek	33.2	+0.3	37.7	26th	12.5	-3.5	8.3	21st	0	0.6	lowest	0%
Victoria River Downs	32.5	+0.6	37.5	26th	9.4	-3.9	3.2	1st	0	1.0	lowest	0%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs	29.8	+0.2	35.7	23rd	10.2	-2.3	4.8	14th	0	1.4	lowest	0%
Elliott	30.9	-0.4	35.4	30th	10.0	-3.3	5.0	3rd	0	1.1	lowest	0%
Tennant Creek Airport	27.9	+0.4	33.8	22nd	13.2	-1.2	8.6	2nd	0	1.6	lowest	0%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	24.9	+2.2	33.0	22nd	4.3	-1.8	-3.6	1st	0	9.2	lowest	0%
Arltunga	23.7	+0.9	31.5	29th	3.5	-1.7	-4.7	2nd	0	6.8	lowest	0%
Curtin Springs	25.0	+2.0	32.5	28th	5.0	-0.7	-1.9	2nd	0	8.3	lowest	0%
Jervois	25.5	+0.5	34.5	29th	6.0	-1.1	-1.5	2nd	0	7.6	lowest	0%
Kulgera	23.3	+1.3	31.8	28th	6.0	-0.7	-2.7	12th	0	8.9	lowest	0%
Papunya			32.0	29th	7.0		0.9	2nd	0	6.1	lowest	0%
Rabbit Flat	30.0	+0.7	36.0	30th	6.6	-1.9	-0.7	1st	0	1.5	lowest	0%
Territory Grape Farm	26.2	+1.0	33.2	29th	5.1	-2.0	-1.2	1st	0	5.0	lowest	0%
Walungurru	28.3		34.3	29th	11.3		3.9	2nd	0	5.9	lowest	0%
Yulara Aero	25.1	+1.6	33.0	28th	4.7	-1.3	-2.0	1st	0	4.8	lowest	0%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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