Monday, 2 December 2019 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0
Northern Territory in November 2019: Very dry with warm days
November 2019 was the third-driest November on record for the Northern Territory with the lowest area-averaged rainfall since 2006. Apart from a couple of small regions in the northwest Top End, rainfall everywhere was below average. Daytime temperatures across virtually the entire NT were above average. Night-time temperatures were generally average to below average, apart from the northwest where minimum temperatures were up to two degrees above average.
Driest November since 2006
- Averaged across the Territory, rainfall was 71% below the long-term average, the third-lowest on record, behind only 2006 and 1901
- Most of the southern NT had totals below 5 mm for the month
- Many sites had either their lowest total November rainfall on record or lowest total November rainfall for at least 20 years
- An isolated thunderstorm on the 5th saw Point Stuart record its highest November daily rainfall on record
- For the year to date, rainfall across the Northern Territory is 48% below the long-term average; the lowest since 1961 and the second-lowest on record
Very warm days
- The area-averaged mean maximum temperature across the Northern Territory was 2.00 °C above average and the fifth-highest on record
- Nearly all of the northern half of the NT had a monthly mean maximum temperature in the top 10% of all records (since 1910)
- Several sites had either their highest November mean daily maximum temperature on record or highest November mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
- A couple of sites in the northwest Top End had their highest November temperature on record
- Minimum temperatures varied across the NT in November, with parts of the north above average, while most of the southern NT had average or below average temperatures; overall, the monthly mean minimum temperature across the Territory was 0.50 °C above the long-term average
- Tindal RAAF had its warmest November night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record, Bradshaw had its highest November mean daily minimum temperature on record, Black Point and Dum In Mirrie had their lowest November mean daily minimum temperature on record and Ngayawili had its lowest November temperature on record
- The mean temperature (maximum and minimum combined) was 1.25 °C above the long-term average, the tenth-highest on record
- Several sites had their highest November mean temperature on record
- Territory-wide, the year-to-date mean maximum temperature is currently the second-highest on record (behind only 2013), 1.77 °C above the long-term average. The year-to-date mean minimum temperature is 0.91 °C above average (tenth-highest) and the mean temperature is tracking at 1.34 °C above average (equal third-highest on record)
Darwin Airport
- Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 87.4 mm, which is 61% of the long-term average of 142.7 mm
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 34.5 °C, which is 1.2 °C above the long-term average of 33.3 °C. The warmest day was 36.1 °C on the 23rd, and the coolest day was on the 5th when the temperature reached 31.1 °C
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 25.6 °C, which is 0.3 °C above the long-term average of 25.3 °C. The coldest morning was 21.8 °C on the 5th, and the warmest morning was on the 13th when the minimum temperature was 27.6 °C
Alice Springs Airport
- Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 0.0 mm, compared to the long-term average of 28.6 mm
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 35.1 °C, which is 1.4 °C above the long-term average of 33.7 °C. The warmest day was 42.0 °C on the 20th, and the coolest day was on the 30th when the temperature reached 28.4 °C
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 17.5 °C, which is 0.4 °C below the long-term average of 17.9 °C. The coldest morning was 10.1 °C on the 5th, and the warmest morning was on the 26th when the minimum temperature was 25.6 °C
Severe thunderstorms
- Heavy rainfall was observed at Point Stuart on the 5th, with a daily total of 118.4 mm, including 93.1 and 105.1 mm observed in 2- and 3-hour periods, respectively, from a line of severe thunderstorms. These rainfall rates had a less than 10% annual exceedance probabilility (AEP)
- A severe wind gust of 111 km/h was recorded from an isolated thunderstorm at Jabiru on 18 November
- An isolated thunderstorm at Darwin Harbour generated a severe wind gust of 94 km/h on 20 November
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in November 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 45.0 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) on the 15th |
| Warmest days on average | 41.6 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) |
| Coolest days on average | 31.7 °C at McCluer Island |
| Coldest day | 27.9 °C at Arltunga on the 9th |
| Coldest night | 6.8 °C at Arltunga on the 10th |
| Coolest nights on average | 15.2 °C at Arltunga |
| Warmest nights on average | 27.0 °C at McCluer Island |
| Warmest night | 30.5 °C at Wave Hill on the 21st |
| Warmest on average overall | 34.2 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) |
| Coolest on average overall | 24.5 °C at Arltunga |
| Wettest overall | 215.8 mm at Point Stuart |
| Wettest day | 118.4 mm at Point Stuart on the 5th |
| Strongest wind gust | 111 km/h at Jabiru Airport on the 18th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
| Total rainfall |
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| Mean daily maximum temperatures |
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| Mean daily minimum temperatures |
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Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Record highest November daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
||||
| Point Stuart | 118.4 | on the 5th | 107.0 | on the 7th in 1996 | 21 | |
| Record lowest November total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
||
| Camfield | 0.0 | 1.0 | in 2006 | 52 | 57.0 |
| Tennant Creek Airport | 1.2 | 1.8 | in 1986 | 51 | 40.8 |
| Wave Hill | 1.0 | = 1.0 | in 2006 | 46 | 56.8 |
| Humpty Doo Collard Road | 63.1 | 63.2 | in 1989 | 38 | 170.1 |
| Scott Creek | 12.5 | 21.0 | in 2009 | 32 | 83.5 |
| Lowest November total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent lower |
Average for November |
|||
| Victoria River Downs | 1.8 | 0.0 | in 1889* | 60.1 | |
| Katherine Aviation Museum | 13.6 | 2.8 | in 1969* | 89.7 | |
| McMinns Lagoon | 85.6 | 67.0 | in 1989 | 183.3 | |
| Montejinni | 2.5 | 0.0 | in 1982* | 54.6 | |
| Ormiston Gorge | 0.7 | 0.0 | in 1996 | 38.2 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported
| Record highest November temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
|||
| Douglas River Research Farm | 43.1 | on the 15th | 41.7 | on the 2nd in 2018 | 29 | 36.9 |
| Bradshaw | 44.1 | on the 15th | 43.7 | on the 10th in 2006 | 22 | 38.4 |
| Record highest November mean daily maximum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
||
| Victoria River Downs | 41.5 | 40.7 | in 1990 | 54 | 38.5 |
| Tindal RAAF | 40.4 | 39.6 | in 2006 | 31 | 37.4 |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 39.6 | 38.9 | in 2009 | 28 | 36.9 |
| Borroloola Airport | 40.3 | 39.9 | in 2016 | 25 | 37.5 |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 39.9 | 39.7 | in 2006 | 22 | 37.6 |
| Bradshaw | 41.1 | 40.3 | in 2006 | 21 | 38.4 |
| Port Keats Airport | 35.7 | 35.5 | in 2015 | 20 | 34.4 |
| Highest November mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent higher |
Average for November |
|||
| Wave Hill | 40.8 | 41.7 | in 1990 | 38.6 | |
| Record highest November daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
|||
| Tindal RAAF | 29.5 | on the 22nd | 29.3 | on the 7th in 1988 | 32 | 25.0 |
| Record lowest November temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
|||
| Ngayawili | 18.9 | on the 11th | 19.0 | on the 27th in 2003 | 21 | 24.5 |
| Record highest November mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
||
| Bradshaw | 26.9 | 26.5 | in 2018 | 21 | 25.6 |
| Record lowest November mean daily minimum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
||
| Black Point | 24.6 | 24.7 | in 2014 | 27 | 25.7 |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 25.2 | = 25.2 | in 2017 | 21 | 26.0 |
| Record highest November mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for November |
||
| Tindal RAAF | 33.0 | 32.7 | in 2006 | 31 | 31.2 |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 31.7 | 31.5 | in 2003 | 28 | 30.2 |
| Lajamanu Airport | 32.3 | = 32.3 | in 2015 | 27 | 30.8 |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 32.6 | 32.5 | in 2006 | 22 | 31.2 |
| Bradshaw | 34.0 | 33.4 | in 2006 | 21 | 32.0 |
| Port Keats Airport | 30.7 | = 30.7 | in 2008 | 20 | 29.9 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for November 2019 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for November 2019 |
Diff from average |
Highest for November 2019 |
Mean for November 2019 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for November 2019 |
Total for November 2019 |
Average for November |
Rank of November 2019 |
Fraction of November average |
|||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
| Batchelor Airport | 37.3 | +1.7 | 39.5 | 23rd | 24.1 | +0.1 | 22.0 | 5th | 85.4 | 135.5 | low | 63% |
| Black Point | 33.4 | +0.1 | 34.9 | 28th | 24.6 | -1.1 | 22.6 | 14th | 5.0 | 60.2 | low | 8% |
| Central Arnhem Plateau | 36.7 | +1.6 | 39.0 | 15th | 23.7 | +0.3 | 21.7 | 5th | 40.6 | 108.2 | low | 38% |
| Charles Point | 32.7 | 33.6 | 30th | 26.3 | 22.4 | 5th | 57.6 | |||||
| Croker Island Airport | 33.9 | 35.8 | 17th | 25.4 | 23.9 | 13th | 11.2 | |||||
| Darwin Airport | 34.5 | +1.2 | 36.1 | 23rd | 25.6 | +0.3 | 21.8 | 5th | 87.4 | 142.7 | low | 61% |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 39.9 | +2.3 | 41.9 | 21st | 25.3 | +0.5 | 22.2 | 7th | 18.8 | 80.3 | v low | 23% |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 39.6 | +2.7 | 43.1 | 15th | 23.8 | +0.2 | 21.6 | 20th | 57.0 | 123.3 | low | 46% |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 33.2 | +0.1 | 34.3 | 20th | 25.2 | -0.8 | 21.5 | 26th | 69.4 | 125.8 | low | 55% |
| Jabiru Airport | 38.5 | +1.6 | 42.1 | 15th | 24.9 | -0.1 | 20.4 | 19th | 83.0 | 138.6 | low | 60% |
| Kangaroo Flats (Defence) | 37.2 | 39.6 | 10th | 24.5 | 21.6 | 26th | 184.2 | |||||
| McCluer Island | 31.7 | -0.3 | 33.5 | 27th | 27.0 | -0.3 | 25.1 | 6th | 0.8 | 26.7 | low | 3% |
| Middle Point | 37.4 | +1.0 | 40.0 | 23rd | 23.1 | -0.4 | 21.1 | 26th | 98.4 | 121.8 | average | 81% |
| Mount Bundey North (Defence) | 38.3 | 40.9 | 16th | 25.2 | 22.3 | 24th | 107.8 | |||||
| Mount Bundey South (Defence) | 38.6 | 41.3 | 21st | 25.2 | 22.7 | 1st | 90.4 | |||||
| Murganella Airstrip | 36.1 | 38.6 | 10th | 22.1 | 20.3 | 11th | 12.6 | |||||
| Noonamah Airstrip | 36.5 | 38.9 | 10th | 24.3 | 21.5 | 26th | 128.6 | |||||
| Oenpelli Airport | 39.1 | 41.5 | 15th | 24.2 | 22.9 | 27th | 43.2 | |||||
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 33.7 | +0.1 | 36.4 | 11th | 23.6 | -0.6 | 21.1 | 20th | 186.8 | 192.2 | average | 97% |
| Point Fawcett | 34.0 | +0.8 | 35.2 | 23rd | 24.2 | -0.8 | 20.9 | 11th | 27.4 | 122.9 | low | 22% |
| Point Stuart | 34.9 | 36.8 | 28th | 24.6 | 22.7 | 19th | 215.8 | 96.6 | v high | 223% | ||
| Port Keats Airport | 35.7 | +1.3 | 38.3 | 20th | 25.8 | +0.4 | 21.9 | 24th | 71.0 | 79.5 | average | 89% |
| Tindal RAAF | 40.4 | +3.0 | 42.2 | 19th | 25.5 | +0.5 | 21.0 | 7th | 15.2 | 95.0 | v low | 16% |
| Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Wessel | 34.2 | 35.6 | 10th | 25.4 | 23.3 | 23rd | 0 | 29.5 | lowest | 0% | ||
| Gove Airport | 33.5 | +0.4 | 35.7 | 10th | 23.4 | -0.1 | 18.5 | 11th | 0 | 42.9 | lowest | 0% |
| Groote Eylandt Airport | 34.5 | 0.0 | 36.3 | 11th | 22.3 | -1.4 | 16.4 | 11th | 91.8 | 118.8 | average | 77% |
| Maningrida Airport | 34.0 | +0.1 | 35.8 | 11th | 24.6 | -0.2 | 21.6 | 6th | 0.2 | 37.3 | v low | 1% |
| Milingimbi Airport | 34.7 | +0.9 | 37.8 | 10th | 24.9 | -0.6 | 22.0 | 11th | 0 | 59.1 | v low | 0% |
| Ngayawili | 32.8 | -0.4 | 35.7 | 5th | 23.9 | -0.6 | 18.9 | 11th | 6.8 | 57.7 | low | 12% |
| Warruwi Airport | 34.4 | +0.7 | 36.1 | 17th | 26.0 | -0.4 | 22.6 | 6th | 10.8 | 56.6 | low | 19% |
| Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
| Borroloola Airport | 40.3 | +2.8 | 42.4 | 18th | 22.4 | -1.6 | 15.8 | 16th | 18.8 | 71.6 | average | 26% |
| Centre Island | 35.1 | +0.4 | 37.1 | 27th | 26.5 | -0.3 | 24.6 | 16th | 1.4 | 40.6 | low | 3% |
| Daly Waters Airstrip | 40.2 | +2.0 | 42.4 | 21st | 22.3 | -1.3 | 14.5 | 17th | 29.6 | 48.8 | average | 61% |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 40.5 | +1.8 | 42.6 | 17th | 23.6 | -0.6 | 16.6 | 16th | 7.0 | 55.7 | v low | 13% |
| Ngukurr Airport | 40.9 | 43.4 | 20th | 24.6 | 20.4 | 16th | 28.4 | |||||
| Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
| Bradshaw | 41.1 | +2.7 | 44.1 | 15th | 26.9 | +1.3 | 23.3 | 24th | 48.0 | 100.4 | low | 48% |
| Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) | 41.6 | 45.0 | 15th | 26.9 | 23.3 | 28th | 40.6 | |||||
| Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence) | 40.1 | 43.9 | 15th | 25.5 | 19.4 | 7th | 53.4 | |||||
| Lajamanu Airport | 40.8 | +2.4 | 43.2 | 21st | 23.8 | +0.6 | 17.0 | 8th | 2.4 | 31.9 | low | 8% |
| Victoria River Downs | 41.5 | +3.0 | 43.3 | 22nd | 25.1 | +0.5 | 18.3 | 8th | 1.8 | 60.1 | v low | 3% |
| Wave Hill | 40.8 | +2.2 | 42.4 | 21st | 24.6 | +0.7 | 17.6 | 19th | 1.0 | 56.8 | lowest | 2% |
| Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
| Elliott | 40.0 | +1.0 | 42.5 | 19th | 24.4 | +1.0 | 19.8 | 9th | 8.4 | 47.3 | low | 18% |
| Tennant Creek Airport | 39.0 | +2.4 | 42.4 | 20th | 25.1 | +1.2 | 20.6 | 6th | 1.2 | 40.8 | lowest | 3% |
| Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
| Alice Springs Airport | 35.1 | +1.4 | 42.0 | 20th | 17.5 | -0.4 | 10.1 | 5th | 0 | 28.2 | lowest | 0% |
| Arltunga | 33.7 | 0.0 | 41.0 | 20th | 15.2 | -3.0 | 6.8 | 10th | 0 | 30.3 | lowest | 0% |
| Curtin Springs | 35.4 | +0.9 | 42.5 | 20th | 18.0 | -0.1 | 13.5 | 6th | 4.5 | 23.4 | average | 19% |
| Jervois | 36.7 | +0.6 | 43.3 | 21st | 17.7 | -1.4 | 9.3 | 6th | 2.6 | 23.4 | low | 11% |
| Rabbit Flat | 40.5 | +1.8 | 44.7 | 21st | 20.9 | -1.2 | 11.9 | 7th | 2.4 | 41.7 | v low | 6% |
| Territory Grape Farm | 37.2 | +1.5 | 42.8 | 21st | 18.6 | -0.3 | 12.7 | 7th | 1.8 | 29.5 | v low | 6% |
| Walungurru Airport | 38.4 | +0.6 | 42.7 | 20th | 24.1 | +0.8 | 21.3 | 3rd | 0.2 | 20.7 | low | 1% |
| Yulara Airport | 35.8 | +0.7 | 43.0 | 20th | 18.1 | -0.3 | 11.8 | 6th | 4.4 | 31.7 | low | 14% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
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 9 am on Monday 2 December 2019. 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
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
- Enquiries
- helpdesk.climate@bom.gov.au
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
