Northern Territory in September 2018: Very warm in the north; dry throughout

Daytime temperatures were generally average to well above average across the Northern Territory in September; in the northern half, tempartures were very much above average. Apart from a few isolated areas, rainfall was well below average throughout the Territory.

Near-record daytime temperatures for the Top End

  • Averaged across the Top End, the mean daily maximum temperature was the second highest on record, behind only September 2017
  • Across the entire NT, the mean maximum temperature was 1.38 °C above the long-term average for September. Maximum temperatures were well above average in the northern half of the Territory and near-average in the southern half.
  • Overnight temperatures were near average; overall the mean daily minimum temperature was 0.03 °C above the long-term average across the Territory. Minimum temperatures were generally near to above average in the northern half and below average in the southern half of the NT.

Generally dry, but unseasonable rain across northwest late in month

  • Averaged across the Northern Territory, rainfall during September was 85% below average
  • In the final week of September some unseasonable rainfall was observed across the western Top End, including a record September daily rainfall at Port Keats on the 26th

Darwin Airport

  • Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 33.0 mm, which is 209% of the long-term average of 15.8 mm
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 33.6 °C, which is 1.0 °C above the long-term average of 32.6 °C. The warmest day was 36.0 °C on the 23rd, and the coolest day was on the 1st when the temperature reached 31.1 °C
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 22.8 °C, which is 0.2 °C below the long-term average of 23.0 °C. The coldest morning was 21.4 °C on the 1st, and the warmest morning was on the 28th when the minimum temperature was 24.3 °C

Alice Springs Airport

  • Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 1.2 mm, which is 14% of the long-term average of 8.5 mm
  • The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 27.7 °C, which is 0.4 °C above the long-term average of 27.3 °C. The warmest day was 35.2 °C on the 28th, and the coolest day was on the 21st when the temperature reached 17.9 °C
  • The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 8.7 °C, which is 1.6 °C below the long-term average of 10.3 °C, and lowest since 2015. The coldest morning was 2.5 °C on the 17st, and the warmest morning was on the 15th when the minimum temperature was 15.9 °C

Further information

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Extremes in September 2018
Hottest day 39.7 °C at Bradshaw on the 15th
Warmest days on average 38.0 °C at Bradshaw
38.0 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence)
38.0 °C at Douglas River Research Farm
Coolest days on average 27.0 °C at Arltunga
Coldest day 17.7 °C at Arltunga on the 19th
Coldest night 0.0 °C at Arltunga on the 17th
Coolest nights on average 7.5 °C at Arltunga
Warmest nights on average 25.1 °C at McCluer Island
Warmest night 27.3 °C at Bradshaw on the 25th
Warmest on average overall 30.4 °C at Bradshaw
Coolest on average overall 18.2 °C at Alice Springs Airport
Wettest overall 43.6 mm at Port Keats Airport
Wettest day 43.4 mm at Port Keats Airport on the 26th
Strongest wind gust 70 km/h at Centre Island on the 20th

Maps
ObservedAnomalyDecile rank
Total
rainfall
Map of Rainfall totals Map of Percentage of normal rainfall Map of Rainfall deciles
Mean
daily
maximum
temperatures
Map of Mean maximum temperature Map of Anomaly in mean maximum temperature Map of Decile rank of mean maximum temperature
Mean
daily
minimum
temperatures
Map of Mean minimum temperature Map of Anomaly in mean minimum temperature Map of Decile rank of mean minimum temperature

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window


Record highest September daily rainfall
New record
(mm)
Old
record
Years of
record
Port Keats Airport 43.4 on the 26th 12.6 on the 29th in 2003 20



Record highest September total rainfall
New record
(mm)
Old
record
Years of
record
Average for
September
Port Keats Airport 43.6 15.8 in 2016 20 5.1



Summary statistics for September 2018
Maximum temperatures
(°C)
Minimum temperatures
(°C)
Rainfall
(millimetres)
Mean for
September
2018
Diff
from
average
Highest for
September
2018
Mean for
September
2018
Diff
from
average
Lowest for
September
2018
Total for
September
2018
Average
for
September
Rank of
September
2018
Fraction of
September
average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Airport 36.6 +0.6 37.9 23rd 20.2 -0.4 18.3 12th 0 8.1 lowest 0%
Black Point 32.5 +0.8 34.0 17th 23.2 +0.2 20.6 11th 0 1.6 lowest 0%
Central Arnhem Plateau 34.3 +0.4 35.9 3rd 18.4 -0.7 15.8 11th 0 5.4 v low 0%
Channel Point 31.3 +0.2 36.0 30th 22.2 +0.6 19.5 22nd 30.0 10.5 v high 286%
Charles Point 30.5   32.5 18th 23.8   22.2 4th 15.4
Darwin Airport 33.6 +1.0 36.0 23rd 22.9 -0.1 21.4 1st 33.0 15.8 high 209%
Delamere Weapons Range 36.3 +0.5 38.0 8th 20.8 +0.1 14.5 12th 0 3.6 lowest 0%
Douglas River Research Farm 38.0 +1.2 39.3 23rd 18.6 0.0 11.9 12th 0.2 5.2 average 4%
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip 32.1 +0.3 35.6 17th 22.5 -0.5 20.3 1st 19.6 13.6 high 144%
Jabiru Airport 37.1 +0.8 38.9 3rd 21.2 -0.4 19.1 11th 0 12.0 lowest 0%
Kangaroo Flats (Defence) 37.1   38.4 29th 21.6   19.8 1st 0
McCluer Island 29.0 -0.2 29.9 25th 25.1 +0.3 23.3 7th 0 1.4 lowest 0%
Middle Point 37.3 +0.8 38.9 23rd 18.8 -0.2 15.8 30th 3.4 16.1 low 21%
Mount Bundey North (Defence) 37.2   38.6 28th 22.3   21.0 1st 0
Mount Bundey South (Defence) 37.4   38.6 23rd 21.0   17.7 30th 0
Murganella Airstrip 32.7   34.5 18th 19.0   14.6 11th 0
Noonamah Airstrip 36.5   38.5 23rd 21.2   18.9 30th 0.4
Oenpelli Airport 37.3   39.1 18th 19.5   17.1 18th 0
Pirlangimpi Airport 34.2 +0.8 36.2 18th 21.4 +0.1 19.8 6th 7.4 27.6 average 27%
Point Fawcett 33.0 +0.9 35.1 22nd 20.4 -0.8 17.9 1st 0 9.2 lowest 0%
Point Stuart 33.8   35.8 17th 21.9   19.2 19th 0 10.2 v low 0%
Port Keats Airport 33.3 -0.3 38.0 22nd 20.7 -0.2 13.4 12th 43.6 5.1 highest 855%
Tindal RAAF 36.9 +1.0 38.5 19th 18.4 -1.5 11.0 11th 0 8.6 lowest 0%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Cape Wessel 32.5   33.3 10th 24.2   20.6 6th 1.4 6.4 average 22%
Gove Airport 31.2 +0.8 32.9 21st 19.6 -0.1 16.7 6th 0 6.6 lowest 0%
Groote Eylandt Airport 33.0 +0.4 35.2 6th 17.0 -0.9 13.0 11th 2.8 7.9 average 35%
Maningrida Airport 32.2 -0.1 35.7 22nd 19.9 -0.5 16.6 11th 0 7.0 v low 0%
Milingimbi Airport 32.6 +0.7 34.9 22nd 21.0 -0.4 17.4 11th 0 4.1 v low 0%
Ngayawili 33.0 +1.1 34.8 22nd 20.4 -0.2 18.4 6th 0 6.6 v low 0%
Warruwi Airport 31.3 +0.4 33.1 6th 24.1 +0.5 20.6 11th 0.2 1.4 high 14%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola Airport 35.8 +0.7 38.2 15th 15.8 -1.8 11.7 11th 0 3.4 lowest 0%
Bulman 36.2 -0.1 37.9 18th 17.9 +0.1 14.5 18th 0 16.8 v low 0%
Centre Island 31.0 +0.4 33.9 15th 22.0 -0.2 19.9 11th 0.2 1.9 low 11%
Daly Waters Airstrip 36.0 +1.1 37.8 7th 14.1 -2.7 6.0 11th 0 1.9 lowest 0%
McArthur River Mine Airport 36.4 +1.0 38.1 18th 17.0 -0.3 11.9 11th 0 4.9 lowest 0%
Ngukurr Airport 35.8   38.0 7th 18.4   12.2 11th 0
Victoria (district 14F)
Bradshaw 38.0 +0.5 39.7 15th 22.9 +0.9 16.8 11th 0 1.9 v low 0%
Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) 38.0   39.3 15th 21.9   14.2 12th 0
Lajamanu Airport 36.1 +1.4 38.4 15th 17.2 +0.6 10.3 12th 0 4.5 lowest 0%
Victoria River Downs 37.1 +1.4 39.0 30th 17.9 -0.2 8.7 12th 0 4.3 lowest 0%
Wave Hill 36.1 +1.0 38.0 30th 18.1 +0.2 9.1 11th 0 12.9 lowest 0%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs 35.4 +1.8 37.5 30th 16.4 -0.2 12.0 11th 0 5.7 lowest 0%
Elliott 35.6 +0.2 38.6 7th 17.4 0.0 10.9 12th 0 5.6 lowest 0%
Tennant Creek Airport 32.9 +1.2 36.5 30th 18.5 +0.1 13.1 11th 0 7.5 lowest 0%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport 27.7 +0.4 35.2 28th 8.7 -1.6 2.5 17th 1.2 8.5 average 14%
Arltunga 27.0 -0.6 33.9 18th 7.5 -2.7 0.0 17th 0 7.6 lowest 0%
Curtin Springs 28.3 +0.4 35.0 14th 10.3 +0.2 5.6 20th 0 10.0 lowest 0%
Jervois 29.4 -0.3 35.6 28th 10.2 -1.1 1.2 17th 0 10.6 lowest 0%
Rabbit Flat 34.5 +0.1 38.1 30th 13.4 -0.8 7.7 1st 0 5.0 lowest 0%
Territory Grape Farm 30.1 -0.2 34.9 28th 10.0 -1.8 3.9 11th 0 9.9 lowest 0%
Walungurru Airport 31.6 -0.2 38.0 28th 17.2 +0.5 12.7 7th 6.8 7.4 high 92%
Yulara Airport 28.9 +0.2 35.8 28th 10.5 -0.2 5.2 7th 2.8 8.8 average 32%

Notes

The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Northern Territory using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.

This statement has been prepared based on information available at 1 pm on Tuesday 30 October 2018. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.

In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.

Averages for individual sites are long-term means based on observations from all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median is sometimes more representative than the mean of long-term average rain.

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, average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9 and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a percentage of the long-term mean.

Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.

Further information

Media
(03) 9669 4057
Enquiries

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