Monday 1 June 2026 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0
Northern Territory in May 2026
Rainfall
- Rainfall totals in May were above to very much above average for most of the Northern Territory and below average for scattered areas of the Top End.
- The Northern Territory's area-averaged rainfall total in May was 20.4 mm, 48% above the 1961–1990 average.
- Old Delamere recorded its highest May daily rainfall on record on the 18th.
- A few sites had their highest total May rainfall for at least 20 years.
Temperature
- Mean maximum temperatures in May were below to very much below average for much of the southern and central Northern Territory, and above average for parts of the northern Top End.
- The Northern Territory's area-averaged mean maximum temperature was 27.1 °C, 0.96 °C below the 1961–1990 average.
- Walungurru Airport recorded its lowest May mean maximum temperature for at least 20 years.
- Mean minimum temperatures in May were above average for eastern, southern and north-western parts of the Northern Territory.
- The Northern Territory's area-averaged mean minimum temperature was 15.7 °C, 0.18 °C above the 1961–1990 average.
- Pirlangimpi Airport recorded its warmest May night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record on the 17th.
- Bulman recorded its coldest May night (lowest daily minimum temperature) on record on the 31st.
- The Northern Territory's area-averaged mean temperature was 21.4 °C, 0.38 °C below the 1961–1990 average.
- Walungurru Airport recorded its equal lowest May mean temperature on record.
Events
- During mid-May, a north-west could band brought several days of unseasonable rainfall to the south of the Northern Territory.
- For more details, visit the May national climate summary.
Darwin Airport
- Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 2.2 mm, which is 11% of the long-term average of 20.2 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 32.5 °C, which is 0.4 °C above the long-term average of 32.1 °C.
- The warmest day was 34.3 °C on the 13th, and the coolest day was on the 30th when the temperature reached 30.7 °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 17.9 °C on the 31st, and the warmest morning was on the 13th when the minimum temperature was 26.5 °C.
Alice Springs Airport
- Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 25.6 mm, which is 140% of the long-term average of 18.3 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 22.1 °C, which is 1.0 °C below the long-term average of 23.1 °C.
- The warmest day was 31.4 °C on the 2nd, and the coolest day was on the 25th when the temperature reached 16.9 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 8.7 °C, which is 0.6 °C above the long-term average of 8.1 °C.
- The coldest morning was 0.9 °C on the 9th, and the warmest morning was on the 16th when the minimum temperature was 15.6 °C.
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in May 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
36.9 °C at Bradshaw on the 4th |
| Warmest days on average |
34.3 °C at Oenpelli Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
22.1 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Coldest day |
16.5 °C at Yulara Airport on the 25th |
| Coldest night |
0.9 °C at Alice Springs Airport on the 9th |
| Coolest nights on average |
8.7 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Warmest nights on average |
24.4 °C at Warruwi Airport |
| Warmest night |
26.5 °C at Darwin Airport on the 13th 26.5 °C at Charles Point on the 12th |
| Warmest on average overall |
28.5 °C at Oenpelli Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
15.4 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Wettest overall |
100.8 mm at Gove Airport |
| Wettest day |
48.6 mm at Old Delamere on the 18th |
| Strongest wind gust |
63.0 km/h at Centre Island on the 20th 63.0 km/h at Tennant Creek Airport on the 21st 63.0 km/h at Tennant Creek Airport on the 8th 63.0 km/h at Centre Island on the 21st |
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
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record highest May daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
|||
| Old Delamere | 48.6 | on the 18th | 17.8 | on 26 May 1968 | 52 | 4.8 |
| Highest May total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for May |
|||
| Old Delamere | 48.6 | 53.8 | in 1968 | 5.7 | |
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 88.2 | 88.4 | in 1992 | 21.4 | |
| Alexandria | 30.0 | 61.2 | in 1992 | 7.3 | |
| Cave Creek Station | 27.5 | 35.3 | in 2004 | 8.7 | |
note: there may be gaps in the historical record at some sites, so it is possible more recent higher values have gone unreported
| Lowest May mean maximum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observed (°C) |
Most recent lower |
Average for May |
|||
| Walungurru Airport | 24.6 | 24.4 | in 2004 | 27.2 | |
note: there may be gaps in the historical record at some sites, so it is possible more recent lower values have gone unreported
| Record highest May daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
|||
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 26.3 | on the 11th | 26.2 | on 17 May 2010 | 43 | 21.5 |
| Record lowest May temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
|||
| Bulman | 8.6 | on the 31st | 8.9 | on 31 May 2023 | 21 | 18.5 |
| Record lowest May mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May |
||
| Walungurru Airport | 19.1 | =19.1 | in 2023 | 25 | 21.3 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for May 2026 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for May 2026 |
Diff from average |
Highest for May 2026 |
Mean for May 2026 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for May 2026 |
Total for May 2026 |
Average for May |
Rank of May 2026 |
Fraction of May average |
|||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
| Batchelor Airport | 32.3 | -0.5 | 33.9 | 4th | 20.3 | +1.1 | 13.1 | 31st | 13.2 | 22.4 | average | 59% |
| Central Arnhem Plateau | 30.3 | -0.2 | 33.8 | 3rd | 19.5 | +0.2 | 12.5 | 31st | 1.0 | 10.0 | average | 10% |
| Channel Point | 32.1 | +0.7 | 34.3 | 14th | 22.0 | +1.4 | 16.6 | 31st | 0.2 | 11.7 | average | 2% |
| Charles Point | 32.1 | +0.1 | 33.7 | 13th | 23.3 | +0.2 | 18.7 | 31st | 1.6 | 14.0 | average | 11% |
| Croker Island Airport | 31.3 | +0.1 | 33.0 | 17th | 23.5 | -0.3 | 19.0 | 30th | 0.0 | 9.5 | lowest | 0% |
| Darwin Airport | 32.5 | +0.4 | 34.3 | 13th | 22.9 | +0.7 | 17.9 | 31st | 2.2 | 20.2 | average | 11% |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 30.6 | -1.1 | 35.0 | 4th | 18.6 | +0.5 | 12.8 | 29th | 8.2 | 5.4 | high | 152% |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 32.7 | -0.7 | 35.5 | 15th | 18.3 | +1.6 | 9.6 | 31st | 0.0 | 9.2 | lowest | 0% |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 33.0 | +0.5 | 35.0 | 13th | 22.1 | +0.3 | 16.9 | 28th | 45.2 | 20.1 | high | 225% |
| East Point | 32.1 | 33.7 | 13th | 23.1 | 18.6 | 31st | 13.2 | |||||
| Jabiru Airport | 33.6 | 0.0 | 36.6 | 3rd | 22.4 | +0.4 | 15.9 | 31st | 14.6 | 16.2 | high | 90% |
| Kangaroo Flats (Defence) | 33.5 | 35.6 | 17th | 21.7 | 15.2 | 30th | 11.2 | |||||
| Knuckey Lagoon | 32.6 | 35.3 | 4th | 22.1 | 15.6 | 30th | 16.8 | |||||
| Middle Point | 33.2 | -0.2 | 35.4 | 4th | 20.1 | +0.8 | 12.8 | 31st | 10.6 | 16.7 | average | 64% |
| Mount Bundey North (Defence) | 32.8 | 34.6 | 4th | 21.4 | 15.1 | 31st | 14.4 | |||||
| Mount Bundey South (Defence) | 33.3 | 35.7 | 4th | 20.4 | 12.4 | 31st | 1.0 | |||||
| Murganella Airstrip | 31.9 | -0.6 | 33.2 | 25th | 21.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 31st | 15.2 | 12.2 | average | 125% |
| Noonamah Airstrip | 33.8 | -0.2 | 35.8 | 4th | 21.0 | +0.7 | 13.8 | 30th | 10.8 | 8.5 | high | 127% |
| Oenpelli Airport | 34.3 | -0.1 | 36.7 | 3rd | 22.2 | -0.5 | 14.1 | 31st | 0.4 | 12.6 | average | 3% |
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 32.1 | -0.6 | 34.0 | 17th | 22.3 | +0.8 | 17.3 | 30th | 88.2 | 20.2 | high | 437% |
| Point Stuart | 31.3 | -0.9 | 33.4 | 3rd | 22.9 | +1.3 | 17.4 | 31st | 5.6 | 16.5 | average | 34% |
| Port Keats Airport | 32.4 | -0.6 | 35.4 | 4th | 21.0 | +1.4 | 12.5 | 30th | 1.2 | 16.9 | average | 7% |
| Tindal RAAF | 31.9 | -0.4 | 35.1 | 17th | 18.4 | +1.0 | 11.1 | 31st | 0.2 | 6.4 | average | 3% |
| Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
| Gove Airport | 29.9 | 31.2 | 5th | 22.7 | 16.5 | 30th | 100.8 | |||||
| Groote Eylandt Airport | 30.5 | -0.4 | 33.4 | 18th | 20.4 | +0.9 | 11.7 | 30th | 11.8 | 29.6 | average | 40% |
| Maningrida Airport | 32.0 | -0.1 | 33.2 | 5th | 21.8 | -0.1 | 14.9 | 30th | 13.4 | 23.4 | average | 57% |
| Milingimbi Airport | 32.2 | +0.1 | 34.0 | 7th | 22.5 | 0.0 | 16.6 | 31st | 9.4 | 24.5 | average | 38% |
| Ngayawili | 31.2 | 0.0 | 32.6 | 9th | 22.8 | +0.2 | 17.5 | 31st | 11.6 | 26.2 | average | 44% |
| Warruwi Airport | 31.0 | +0.1 | 32.3 | 12th | 24.4 | +0.3 | 21.6 | 29th | 26.0 | 15.5 | high | 168% |
| Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
| Borroloola Airport | 32.0 | -0.5 | 35.5 | 4th | 16.8 | +1.0 | 7.6 | 29th | 1.6 | 6.6 | average | 24% |
| Bulman | 31.9 | -0.6 | 35.5 | 3rd | 19.0 | +0.5 | 8.6 | 31st | 14.6 | 15.3 | average | 95% |
| Centre Island | 29.2 | -0.3 | 32.7 | 4th | 23.0 | +0.4 | 19.1 | 30th | 0.4 | 10.3 | average | 4% |
| Daly Waters Airstrip | 30.3 | -1.0 | 34.1 | 3rd | 17.6 | +1.7 | 10.4 | 22nd | 0.0 | 6.1 | lowest | 0% |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 31.6 | -0.8 | 35.2 | 4th | 18.1 | +1.4 | 8.8 | 29th | 0.0 | 6.5 | lowest | 0% |
| Ngukurr Airport | 31.9 | -1.1 | 35.0 | 3rd | 19.3 | +0.8 | 10.2 | 31st | 0.6 | 8.5 | average | 7% |
| Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
| Bradshaw | 32.9 | -0.9 | 36.9 | 4th | 18.6 | -0.1 | 12.3 | 30th | 5.0 | 10.5 | high | 48% |
| Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) | 32.6 | 36.7 | 4th | 20.5 | 13.0 | 29th | 0.4 | |||||
| Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence) | 32.6 | 36.3 | 3rd | 16.8 | 8.3 | 31st | 0.2 | |||||
| Lajamanu Airport | 28.0 | -1.6 | 34.6 | 3rd | 14.9 | +1.2 | 7.4 | 28th | 28.0 | 8.8 | high | 318% |
| Victoria River Downs | 31.4 | -0.6 | 35.8 | 3rd | 16.7 | +0.9 | 8.8 | 30th | 2.6 | 5.7 | high | 46% |
| Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
| Elliott | 29.4 | -1.7 | 34.9 | 2nd | 16.1 | +0.1 | 8.0 | 30th | 3.4 | 6.5 | high | 52% |
| Tennant Creek Airport | 26.0 | -1.7 | 32.5 | 2nd | 15.7 | -0.7 | 10.1 | 27th | 43.8 | 8.6 | high | 509% |
| Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
| Alice Springs Airport | 22.1 | -1.0 | 31.4 | 2nd | 8.7 | +0.6 | 0.9 | 9th | 25.6 | 18.3 | high | 140% |
| Curtin Springs | 23.3 | -0.6 | 30.4 | 1st | 10.3 | +1.5 | 5.2 | 4th | 0.0 | 17.1 | lowest | 0% |
| Jervois | 23.8 | -1.6 | 33.3 | 2nd | 11.4 | +1.4 | 5.5 | 9th | 26.6 | 16.7 | high | 159% |
| Rabbit Flat | 27.7 | -1.1 | 34.6 | 3rd | 12.9 | +1.2 | 4.3 | 28th | 7.4 | 14.4 | average | 51% |
| Territory Grape Farm | 24.3 | -1.3 | 31.8 | 2nd | 10.7 | +1.2 | 3.6 | 26th | 53.0 | 21.4 | high | 248% |
| Walungurru Airport | 24.6 | -2.6 | 32.3 | 1st | 13.6 | -1.7 | 7.7 | 25th | 33.2 | 15.5 | high | 214% |
| Watarrka | 23.2 | -1.6 | 29.0 | 31st | 6.7 | -3.9 | 3.0 | 29th | 15.1 | 19.6 | average | 77% |
| Yulara Airport | 22.2 | -2.1 | 31.2 | 1st | 10.0 | +0.7 | 5.4 | 28th | 14.2 | 13.1 | high | 108% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary, usually published in the first week of the following 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.
This statement has been prepared based on information available on Monday 1 June 2026. 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, excluding the current year. The length of record can
vary widely from site to site. Averages are not shown for sites with fewer 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.
Information about Australian Indigenous seasonal calendars is available at the Indigenous Weather Knowledge website.
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
