Thursday, 9 January 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0

Northern Territory in December 2019: hottest December on record and very dry

December 2019 in the Northern Territory had the highest ever recorded mean maximum temperature for December, and for any month. The mean temperature was also the highest recorded in December. The month was the fourth-driest December on record, with virtually the entire NT receiving below average rainfall.

Warmest December on record

• The Territory's mean temperature and mean maximum temperature were the highest ever recorded in the NT for December, with the mean maximum being the highest for any month. The entire NT observed well above average mean maximum temperatures, with over two-thirds of the Territory recording its highest on record
• The mean maximum temperature averaged across the NT in December 2019 was 4.01 °C above the long-term average. This is the highest positive anomaly for any month recorded in the Territory, exceeding the previous high of September 2013. It was also the first time a monthly anomaly exceeded 4.0 °C
• The mean temperature of 3.12 °C above average was the highest ever recorded in December, beating the previous high of 2.88 °C in December 2018
• Multiple sites broke temperature records, including for: highest December temperature on record, highest December mean daily maximum temperature on record, highest December mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years, highest December mean temperature on record and highest December mean temperature for at least 20 years
• The highest temperature recorded in the NT in December 2019 was 47.9 °C at Rabbit Flat, in the Tanami District, on 25 December. This is the highest ever December temperature recorded in the Territory and the third-highest observed in any month
• Territory-wide, the mean minimum temperature was 2.23 °C above average, the second-highest on record after December 2018. Most of the NT observed mean minimum temperatures between 1 and 3 °C above the long-term average
• Many sites had either their highest December mean daily minimum temperature on record and/or their warmest December night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record
• The minimum temperature at Walungurru (Kintore), in the Lasseter District, on 26 December was 36.0 °C. This is the highest minimum temperature recorded in the NT for any month and the third-highest in Australia for any month

Fourth driest December on record

• Averaged across the Northern Territory, rainfall during December 2019 was 73% below the long-term average. This was the fourth-lowest on record and lowest since 1955
• A delayed start to the Australian monsoon (typical onset at Darwin is around Christmas time) contributed to most of the NT having less than 40% of its normal December rainfall
• Many sites had either their lowest total December rainfall on record or lowest total December rainfall for at least 20 years

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 60.8 mm, which is 24% of the long-term average of 248.7 mm. This was Darwin Airport's lowest December rainfall since 1991, and the third-lowest since records commenced in 1941
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 35.3 °C, which is 2.6 °C above the long-term average of 32.7 °C; the highest mean maximum on record, exceeding the previous mark of 34.4 °C from December 2002. The warmest day was 37.1 °C on the 9th (highest December temperature on record), and the coolest day was on the 28th when the temperature reached 33.8 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 26.2 °C, which is 0.9 °C above the long-term average of 25.3 °C. The coldest morning was 21.7 °C on the 15th, and the warmest morning was on the 27th when the minimum temperature was 30.2 °C (Darwin Airport's highest daily minimum temperature for any month)

Alice Springs Airport

• Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 1.4 mm, compared to the long-term average of 38.1 mm. This was Alice Spring's lowest December rainfall since 2002, and the equal third-lowest since records commenced in 1941
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 40.8 °C, which is 5.4 °C above the long-term average of 35.4 °C and the highest recorded at Alice Springs Airport since records commenced in 1941 (1.8 °C above the previous record of 2018). The warmest day was 45.7 °C on the 25th (highest temperature for all months), and the coolest day was on the 1st when the temperature reached 29.9 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 22.2 °C, which is 1.9 °C above the long-term average of 20.3 °C. The coldest morning was 12.5 °C on the 1st, and the warmest morning was on the 20th when the minimum temperature was 29.3 °C
• Alice Springs Airport also had its highest December mean temperature on record in 2019, with 31.5 °C

Severe weather in the NT

• Widespread thunderstorm activity on 17 December generated severe wind gusts of 117 km/h at Middle Point, 115 km/h at Douglas River and 94 km/h at Batchelor. There was also radar evidence of severe thunderstorms near Warruwi in the northern Top End.
• Darwin Harbour recorded a severe wind gust of 93 km/h from a multicell thunderstorm system on 24 December
• A severe wind gust of 94 km/h, associated with thunderstorms, was observed at Central Arnhem on 26 December
• A severe squall-line thunderstorm complex which passed over Arnhem Land before tracking further east, generated wind gusts of 107 km/h at McCluer Island and 94 km/h at Croker Island on the 27th. This line of storms produced daily rainfall of 111 mm at Oenpelli and 79 mm at Point Stuart in the 24 hours to 9am on the 28th
• Territory Grape Farm, north of Alice Springs, had a 90 km/h wind gust from a pulse thunderstorm on 28 December
• Also on the 28th, a separate thunderstorm system produced severe wind gusts of 120 km/h at Victoria River Downs, 102 km/h at Bradshaw and 98km/h at Delamere, south of Katherine

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Extremes in December 2019
Hottest day	47.9 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 25th
Warmest days on average	43.4 °C at Rabbit Flat
Coolest days on average	33.5 °C at McCluer Island
Coldest day	28.5 °C at Central Arnhem Plateau on the 27th
Coldest night	10.9 °C at Arltunga on the 15th
Coolest nights on average	20.6 °C at Arltunga
Warmest nights on average	28.8 °C at McCluer Island
Warmest night	36.0 °C at Walungurru Airport on the 26th
Warmest on average overall	35.3 °C at Walungurru Airport
Coolest on average overall	29.6 °C at Arltunga
Wettest overall	195.8 mm at Oenpelli Airport
Wettest day	111.0 mm at Oenpelli Airport on the 28th
Strongest wind gust	120 km/h at Victoria River Downs on the 28th

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

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

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Record lowest December total rainfall
	New record (mm)	Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Larrimah	1.2	15.0	in 1955	67	146.8
Darwin Botanic Gardens	22.4	47.3	in 1982	66	261.8
Adelaide River Post Office	86.5	90.5	in 2018	56	259.7
Daly Waters Airstrip	0.2	30.2	in 2002	51	113.9
McArthur River Mine Airport	8.8	22.4	in 1979	49	121.1
Gove Airport	0.4	1.4	in 2002	45	173.9
Montejinni	11.8	12.4	in 1972	45	108.9
Jabiru Airport	32.2	50.0	in 1997	43	221.1
Alcan Minesite	0.0	0.8	in 1982	41	161.7
Tindal RAAF	64.4	72.0	in 2006	36	207.1
Nathan River	6.4	11.2	in 2006	34	145.4
Mount Sanford	0.0	16.0	in 1986	32	136.4
Gilnockie	18.6	32.6	in 1991	31	167.7
Yulara Airport	2.6	2.8	in 1985	31	44.1
Mataranka Airstrip	7.0	41.0	in 1986	29	208.3
Birrindudu	0.0	13.0	in 2018	26	99.9
Borroloola Airport	3.8	14.4	in 2001	26	128.8
CSIRO Berrimah	28.4	117.8	in 2002	23	327.7
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	21.2	106.2	in 2002	23	282.9
Geriatric Park	103.0	126.2	in 2014	22	366.4
Moroak	2.0	11.5	in 2013	22	165.9
Ngayawili	0.8	46.8	in 2012	21	215.7

Lowest December total rainfall for at least 20 years
	Observed (mm)	Most recent lower		Average for December
Victoria River Downs	2.2	0.0	in 1889*	118.2
Katherine Council	42.6	35.3	in 1938*	198.6
The Garden	1.0	0.0	in 1972*	43.0
Centre Island	1.2	0.2	in 1985	130.9
Warruwi Airport	49.4	41.4	in 1986*	191.8
Waterloo	39.8	0.0	in 1985*	111.4
Darwin Airport	60.8	18.8	in 1991	248.7
Howard Springs Nature Park	76.3	46.9	in 1991	291.1
Leanyer	42.2	13.6	in 1991	291.9
Elizabeth Valley	75.6	74.6	in 1991*	291.7
Watarrka	4.5	2.5	in 1991*	37.3
Moolooloo	42.6	30.5	in 1991*	151.4
Point Fawcett	34.4	0.0	in 1995*	286.1

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

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Record highest December temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Alice Springs Airport	45.7	on the 25th	45.6	on the 29th in 2018	79	35.4
Darwin Airport	37.1	on the 9th	37.0	on the 18th in 1976	79	32.7
Victoria River Downs	44.7	on the 7th	= 44.7	on the 11th in 2018	54	37.8
Jervois	47.2	on the 25th	= 47.2	on the 22nd in 1990	52	37.7
Daly Waters Airstrip	45.6	on the 27th	44.3	on the 2nd in 2007	50	37.3
Jabiru Airport	41.6	on the 7th	39.6	on the 15th in 2014	43	35.1
Kulgera	47.0	on the 29th	45.5	on the 29th in 2018	40	34.9
Yulara Airport	47.1	on the 24th	46.1	on the 30th in 2018	34	36.5
Tindal RAAF	43.1	on the 6th	41.6	on the 1st in 2006	32	35.7
Douglas River Research Farm	41.7	on the 6th	40.7	on the 27th in 2002	30	35.0
Watarrka	46.0	on the 24th	= 46.0	on the 30th in 2018	29	36.4
Territory Grape Farm	45.9	on the 25th	45.5	on the 19th in 2018	28	36.4
Borroloola Airport	44.7	on the 26th	44.6	on the 5th in 2018	26	36.5
Rabbit Flat	47.9	on the 25th	47.1	on the 19th in 2018	24	38.7
Delamere Weapons Range	43.6	on the 6th	43.0	on the 1st in 2006	23	35.9
Point Fawcett	36.5	on the 20th	35.3	on the 11th in 2003	23	32.6
Arltunga	44.5	on the 25th	43.6	on the 19th in 2018	20	34.6

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Record highest December mean daily maximum temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Alice Springs Airport	40.8	39.0	in 2018	78	35.4
Darwin Airport	35.3	34.4	in 2002	78	32.7
Warruwi Airport	35.6	34.7	in 2003	52	33.2
Jervois	41.9	40.5	in 2018	51	37.7
Tennant Creek Airport	41.4	41.3	in 2018	50	37.2
Daly Waters Airstrip	41.5	40.8	in 2002	49	37.3
Centre Island	37.0	36.8	in 1990	45	34.7
Jabiru Airport	39.0	37.1	in 2012	42	35.1
McArthur River Mine Airport	41.6	40.6	in 1990	42	37.7
Gove Airport	35.2	34.9	in 2017	40	33.1
Yulara Airport	41.5	39.5	in 2018	33	36.5
Tindal RAAF	40.8	38.0	in 1986	31	35.7
Douglas River Research Farm	38.0	= 38.0	in 2002	29	35.0
Black Point	34.6	34.1	in 2018	27	32.6
Territory Grape Farm	41.0	40.6	in 2018	27	36.4
Borroloola Airport	41.4	39.0	in 2018	25	36.5
Batchelor Airport	36.3	36.2	in 2002	23	33.9
Delamere Weapons Range	40.3	39.5	in 2002	22	35.9
Point Fawcett	35.2	33.8	in 2014	22	32.6
Bradshaw	39.9	39.6	in 2018	21	36.7
Groote Eylandt Airport	36.6	36.0	in 2005	20	34.4
McCluer Island	33.5	= 33.5	in 2002	20	32.1

Highest December mean daily maximum temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for December
Victoria River Downs	41.6	42.2	in 1972	37.8

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Record highest December daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Darwin Airport	30.2	on the 27th	30.0	on the 12th in 2018	79	25.3
Warruwi Airport	30.0	on the 27th	= 30.0	on the 6th in 2002	52	26.3
Tennant Creek Airport	33.1	on the 27th	32.1	on the 31st in 1986	51	24.9
Daly Waters Airstrip	31.3	on the 27th	30.1	on the 16th in 1959	50	24.2
Yulara Airport	32.5	on the 25th	30.8	on the 1st in 1996	34	20.9
Tindal RAAF	29.1	on the 12th	28.8	on the 7th in 2012	32	24.8
Watarrka	32.0	on the 28th	= 32.0	on the 21st in 1990	29	21.8
Lajamanu Airport	30.3	on the 26th	30.1	on the 2nd in 2007	28	24.3
Territory Grape Farm	31.1	on the 26th	30.0	on the 21st in 2003	28	21.3
Black Point	30.4	on the 27th	30.2	on the 9th in 2009	27	26.2
Point Fawcett	30.1	on the 27th	29.9	on the 12th in 2018	23	25.6
Bradshaw	29.4	on the 8th	29.2	on the 12th in 2018	22	25.5
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	30.4	on the 27th	30.0	on the 12th in 2018	22	26.1
McCluer Island	30.3	on the 27th	30.0	on the 7th in 2018	21	27.2
Arltunga	29.9	on the 26th	28.4	on the 24th in 2009	20	20.4
Port Keats Airport	30.0	on the 27th	29.6	on the 12th in 2018	20	25.5

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Record lowest December temperature
	New record (°C)		Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Batchelor Airport	19.1	on the 11th	19.9	on the 11th in 2009	24	24.2

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Record highest December mean daily minimum temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Warruwi Airport	27.9	27.6	in 1995	51	26.3
Jabiru Airport	26.4	26.0	in 2014	43	25.0
Elliott	26.6	26.4	in 2018	38	24.4
Yulara Airport	24.0	23.6	in 2012	33	20.9
Tindal RAAF	26.8	25.6	in 2018	31	24.8
McCluer Island	28.8	28.1	in 2012	20	27.2

Highest December mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for December
Daly Waters Airstrip	26.0	26.2	in 1952*	24.2

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

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Record highest December mean temperature
	New record (°C)	Old record		Years of record	Average for December
Alice Springs Airport	31.5	30.3	in 2018	78	27.9
Darwin Airport	30.8	30.6	in 2018	78	29.0
Jervois	32.3	31.7	in 2003	51	29.6
Warruwi Airport	31.7	31.1	in 1995	51	29.7
Daly Waters Airstrip	33.7	32.9	in 2018	49	30.8
Jabiru Airport	32.7	31.4	in 2018	42	30.1
Elliott	34.3	= 34.3	in 2018	38	31.5
Yulara Airport	32.8	31.0	in 2012	33	28.7
Tindal RAAF	33.8	31.8	in 1986	31	30.2
Douglas River Research Farm	31.2	= 31.2	in 2002	28	29.5
Territory Grape Farm	31.9	= 31.9	in 2018	27	28.8
Black Point	31.2	31.1	in 2018	26	29.4
Borroloola Airport	33.3	32.6	in 2018	25	30.9
Delamere Weapons Range	33.0	32.8	in 2002	22	30.3
Point Fawcett	30.7	30.3	in 2014	22	29.1
Bradshaw	33.3	33.2	in 2018	21	31.1
McCluer Island	31.1	30.7	in 2002	20	29.6

Highest December mean temperature for at least 20 years
	Observed (°C)	Most recent higher		Average for December
Centre Island	32.7	32.8	in 1990	31.0
McArthur River Mine Airport	33.9	34.0	in 1990*	31.4

* 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

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Summary statistics for December 2019
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean for December 2019	Diff from average	Highest for December 2019		Mean for December 2019	Diff from average	Lowest for December 2019		Total for December 2019	Average for December	Rank of December 2019	Fraction of December average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Airport	36.3	+2.4	39.0	7th	24.1	-0.1	19.1	11th	141.2	262.5	low	54%
Black Point	34.6	+2.0	35.2	18th	27.8	+1.6	22.9	28th	35.1	208.2	v low	17%
Central Arnhem Plateau	36.7	+3.5	40.3	7th	24.5	+0.9	21.7	13th	71.0	232.7	low	31%
Charles Point	33.7		34.6	19th	27.0		23.4	14th	36.6
Croker Island Airport	34.9		36.1	21st	27.7		22.1	28th	75.4
Darwin Airport	35.3	+2.6	37.1	9th	26.2	+0.9	21.7	15th	60.8	248.7	v low	24%
Delamere Weapons Range	40.3	+4.4	43.6	6th	25.7	+1.1	20.7	27th	58.0	167.7	low	35%
Douglas River Research Farm	38.0	+3.0	41.7	6th	24.4	+0.6	20.7	19th	105.0	211.9	low	50%
Jabiru Airport	39.0	+3.9	41.6	7th	26.4	+1.4	23.0	28th	32.2	221.1	lowest	15%
Kangaroo Flats (Defence)	36.4		39.0	7th	24.8		21.1	18th	111.2
McCluer Island	33.5	+1.4	34.7	17th	28.8	+1.6	22.9	28th	71.8	188.1	low	38%
Middle Point	37.3	+2.3	40.4	7th	24.1	-0.1	22.3	28th	63.2	226.2	v low	28%
Mount Bundey North (Defence)	38.1		40.5	7th	25.4		22.5	12th	77.6
Mount Bundey South (Defence)	39.0		41.9	7th	26.1		23.9	12th	60.2
Murganella Airstrip	36.2		39.0	4th	24.3		22.1	28th	66.2
Noonamah Airstrip	36.5		39.0	24th	24.9		21.3	14th	112.2
Oenpelli Airport	39.1		42.2	7th	25.7		21.9	28th	195.8
Pirlangimpi Airport	34.6	+1.7	36.6	7th	25.1	+0.3	22.9	28th	180.2	342.5	low	53%
Point Fawcett	35.2	+2.6	36.5	20th	26.3	+0.7	24.0	25th	34.4	286.1	v low	12%
Point Stuart	36.2	+2.5	38.3	26th	25.5	+0.3	22.3	13th	89.0	211.7	low	42%
Port Keats Airport	36.0	+2.4	38.8	19th	26.4	+0.9	23.1	24th	23.2	196.9	v low	12%
Tindal RAAF	40.8	+5.1	43.1	6th	26.8	+2.0	21.3	6th	64.4	207.1	lowest	31%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Cape Wessel	35.9		37.0	14th	26.6		24.2	6th	3.0	127.4	v low	2%
Gove Airport	35.2	+2.1	38.0	4th	25.0	+0.4	22.0	1st	0.4	173.9	lowest	0%
Groote Eylandt Airport	36.6	+2.2	39.5	26th	24.2	-0.9	18.9	5th	18.6	176.9	v low	11%
Maningrida Airport	35.1	+1.7	37.4	4th	26.1	+0.8	22.3	28th	29.4	148.8	v low	20%
Milingimbi Airport	35.8	+1.9	39.5	4th	26.3	+0.3	23.2	28th	23.6	141.3	v low	17%
Ngayawili	34.0	+1.1	35.5	23rd	26.0	+0.2	22.4	4th	0.8	215.7	lowest	0%
Warruwi Airport	35.6	+2.4	37.4	6th	27.9	+1.6	23.1	28th	49.4	191.8	v low	26%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola Airport	41.4	+4.9	44.7	26th	25.2	0.0	19.5	6th	3.8	128.8	lowest	3%
Bulman	40.8	+3.6	43.6	6th	25.8	+1.0	22.8	28th	41.4	193.3	v low	21%
Centre Island	37.0	+2.3	39.5	15th	28.4	+1.0	25.9	6th	1.2	130.9	v low	1%
Daly Waters Airstrip	41.5	+4.2	45.6	27th	26.0	+1.8	17.0	6th	0.2	113.9	lowest	0%
McArthur River Mine Airport	41.6	+3.9	44.1	26th	26.1	+1.0	19.8	6th	8.8	121.1	lowest	7%
Ngukurr Airport	42.3		44.0	15th	26.8		23.0	6th	0.6
Victoria (district 14F)
Bradshaw	39.9	+3.2	44.1	6th	26.6	+1.1	22.1	28th	70.8	193.2	low	37%
Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence)	40.6		45.2	6th	27.0		21.9	14th	128.0
Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence)	39.4		44.1	6th	26.5		22.9	30th	69.8
Lajamanu Airport	43.1	+4.8	46.0	17th	26.3	+2.0	21.3	3rd	18.2	76.6	low	24%
Victoria River Downs	41.6	+3.8	44.7	7th	26.6	+1.4	21.3	7th	2.2	118.2	v low	2%
Barkly (district 15A)
Elliott	42.0	+3.5	45.1	17th	26.6	+2.2	20.3	1st	9.4	102.4	v low	9%
Tennant Creek Airport	41.4	+4.2	44.5	24th	27.5	+2.6	21.6	1st	31.0	73.6	low	42%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	40.8	+5.4	45.7	25th	22.2	+1.9	12.5	1st	1.4	38.1	v low	4%
Arltunga	39.0	+4.4	44.5	25th	20.6	+0.2	10.9	15th	15.2	41.3	average	37%
Jervois	41.9	+4.2	47.2	25th	22.8	+1.3	14.1	4th	1.6	38.8	v low	4%
Rabbit Flat	43.4	+4.7	47.9	25th	24.5	+0.7	18.4	3rd	26.4	69.7	low	38%
Territory Grape Farm	41.0	+4.6	45.9	25th	22.8	+1.5	16.8	2nd	8.2	54.6	low	15%
Walungurru Airport	42.4	+4.0	47.7	25th	28.4	+3.5	20.2	1st	0.2	59.0	low	0%
Yulara Airport	41.5	+5.0	47.1	24th	24.0	+3.1	13.6	1st	2.6	44.1	lowest	6%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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