Monday, 3 June 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0

Northern Territory in May 2019: Unseasonable rain in the north, warm start to dry season

After a relatively dry wet season, May 2019, the first month of this year's dry season, saw moderate rainfall totals across many parts of the Northern Territory. Rainfall was very much above average across parts of the Top End, and an area in the far south of the NT. Overall, daytime and overnight temperatures were generally warmer than average, but there were some regions which were cooler than normal during the month.

Above average rainfall across north at start of month, widespread falls in south around mid-May

• Out-of-season tropical activity at the start of May saw a tropical trough develop off the north coast, eventually leading to the formation of tropical cyclone Lili, which formed north of Darwin and tracked towards Timor Leste. This resulted in widespread rainfall across the Top End, extending into the Carpentaria and Barkly districts during the first week of May: some sites had their highest May daily rainfall on record
• Some sites near the southern Top End had their highest total May rainfall for at least 20 years
• Around the middle of the month, a deep surface and upper-level trough tapped into tropical moisture to Australia's north and delivered some substantial rainfall to the far south of the Territory on the 18th and 19th, causing the Todd River to flow in some places
• Large swathes of the NT away from the north and far south saw average to below average rainfall during the month so, Territory-wide, rainfall was only 1% above the long-term average

Generally warmer than average temperatures, but variable across the Northern Territory

• Averaged over the Northern Territory, daytime and overnight temperatures were above average, but significantly less so, relatively speaking, compared to recent months: the mean daily maximum was 0.55 °C above average, the mean minimum was 1.04 °C above average, while the mean (combined maximum and minimum) temperature was 0.79 °C above the long-term average
• Daytime temperatures were generally warmer than normal across the eastern half of the NT and the base of the Top End, will a small patch of below-average temperatures along the southeastern border region. It was close to average elsewhere
• Much of the northern two-thirds of the NT experienced above average overnight temperatures, with a large area covering much of the Victoria River Downs District and adjacent parts observing very much above average mean minimum temperatures. Further south, overnight temperatures were near average apart from a small area in the far south which saw below average minimum temperatures in May

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 31.8 mm, which is 150% of the long-term average of 21.2 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 32.3 °C, which is 0.2 °C above the long-term average of 32.1 °C. The warmest day was 34.1 °C on the 16th, and the coolest day was on the 10th when the temperature reached 29.2 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 22.9 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the long-term average of 22.2 °C. The coldest morning was 20.2 °C on the 29th, and the warmest morning was on the 5th when the minimum temperature was 25.6 °C

Alice Springs Airport

• Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 29.0 mm, which is 156% of the long-term average of 18.6 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 23.6 °C, which is 0.5 °C above the long-term average of 23.1 °C. The warmest day was 31.3 °C on the 17th, and the coolest day was on the 31st when the temperature reached 14.9 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 8.3 °C, which is 0.1 °C above the long-term average of 8.2 °C. The coldest morning was 1.0 °C on the 12th, and the warmest morning was on the 18th when the minimum temperature was 18.4 °C

Tropical cyclone Lili briefly in Northern Territory's region

• Lili formed on 9 May, well north of Darwin in Indonesia's area of responsibility, before tracking southwest through Australia's northern region on 10 May as a category 1 system. It weakened to below tropical cyclone strength later on the 10th without making landfall on any part of the Northern Territory, before impacting Timor Leste as a tropical low
• Including Lili, the 2018-19 period saw a total of four tropical cyclones in Australia's northern region, exceeding the average of between two and three storms per season

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

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top