Wednesday, 1 May 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0

Northern Territory in April 2019: Moderate rains across Top End, dry elsewhere. Warm days and nights

A monsoon burst in the first half of April produced significant rainfall totals across the Top End, however very little rainfall was recorded further south during the month. Daytime and overnight temperatures were well above average across much of the Northern Territory during April.

Dry overall, but wet in the north

• Averaged across the Territory's Top End, rainfall was a little above the long-term average; considering the NT in its entirety, rainfall during April was 23% below the long-term average
• Rainfall across the Top End coincided with an active monsoon burst which occurred roughly between 5 and 10 April. Once the monsoon retreated, only isolated and generally light rainfall was recorded anywhere across the NT for the remainder of the month
• During the active monsoon, some sites in the northwest had their highest April daily rainfall on record while Alcan Minesite in the far northeast had its highest total April rainfall since 1983
• Rainfall since the start of the year to the end of April was the eighth-lowest on record, averaged across the NT, at 44% below the long-term average; this is the lowest since 1970

Temperatures amongst highest on record

• Daytime and overnight temperatures were above average at nearly all sites across the Territory during April
• Territory-wide, the mean maximum temperature was 1.54 °C above average compared to the long-term April average and the eleventh-highest on record
• Territory-wide, the mean minimum temperature was 1.74 °C above average and the sixth-highest on record
• Some sites had either their warmest April night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record, highest April mean daily minimum temperature on record or highest April mean daily minimum temperature in the last 27 years
• Across the NT, the mean temperature (maximum and minimum combined) was 1.64 °C above average and the ninth-highest on record
• Some sites had their highest April mean temperature in for at least 20 years
• It has been the warmest start to a year on record for the NT in 2019. Territory-wide, the January to April mean maximum temperature (2.84 °C above the long-term April average), mean minimum temperature (1.85 °C above average) and mean temperature (2.35 °C above average) are all the highest on record

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 157.4 mm, which is 155% of the long-term average of 101.5 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 33.1 °C, which is 0.4 °C above the long-term average of 32.7 °C. The warmest day was 35.3 °C on the 28th, and the coolest day was on the 8th when the temperature reached 28.4 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 24.5 °C, which is 0.5 °C above the long-term average of 24.0 °C. The coldest morning was 22.1 °C on the 27th, and the warmest morning was on the 2nd when the minimum temperature was 27.3 °C

Alice Springs Airport

• No rainfall was recorded at Alice Springs Airport during April: the long-term average is 16.5 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 30.2 °C, which is 1.9 °C above the long-term average of 28.3 °C. The warmest day was 35.0 °C on the 9th, and the coolest day was on the 29th when the temperature reached 23.9 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 13.0 °C, which is 0.4 °C above the long-term average of 12.6 °C. The coldest morning was 7.8 °C on the 13th, and the warmest morning was on the 10th when the minimum temperature was 20.2 °C

Severe weather across the Northern Territory

• Tropical cyclone Wallace formed on 6 April while just within the Northern Territory tropical cyclone region, but did not directly impact the NT at any stage of its life cycle
• Associated with a tropical low over the Timor Sea, a band of heavy thunderstorms produced rainfall in excess of the 10 year annual exceedance probability (roughly equivalent to 1-in-10 year rainfall rate) at Fish River in the western Top End: 137mm was observed in a 3-hour period on the 9th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

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

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top