Tuesday, 2 May 2017 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGCC2R0
Northern Territory wet season October to April 2016-17: wetter than average
- Total rainfall was 48% above average, the eighth-highest on record
- Mean maximum temperature 0.06 °C below average for the wet season
- Mean minimum temperature 0.07 °C above average for the wet season
- Monsoon onset for Darwin was 21 December
- Three tropical cyclones formed in Northern Territory waters, but only ex-tropical cyclone Alfred made landfall over mainland Northern Territory
- Darwin Airport recorded its third-wettest wet season on record
- Darwin and some other sites had their coldest October to April day (lowest maximum temperature) on record on 11 April
During the "build up" months of October and November, temperatures were warmer than average for most of the Top End despite regular afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms impacted the Territory during November with widespread wind damage to vegetation in the Palmerston and Darwin River Dam regions on 5 December. The first half of December was very dry across all parts of the NT apart from the far south. The dry conditions were broken by the onset of the monsoon to the Top End on 21 December. A low combined with ex-tropical cyclone Yvette to form a tropical depression which tracked across inland Western Australia and central Australia, producing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding in the southern NT between 25 and 28 December. The first half of January saw a monsoon break, before the monsoon trough strengthened and impacted the Top End around 22 January. February began with the strongest monsoon burst of the wet season which was enhanced by a strong Madden-Julian Oscillation. The monsoon trough drifted further south and tropical cyclone Alfred formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria in mid-February. During the first week of March the monsoon became active again over northern Australia as tropical cyclone Blanche dragged the pre-existing monsoon trough south. In early April, Darwin recorded a maximum temperature of 21.9°C, significantly lower than the previous wet season record of 24.0°C. In the last week of the wet season tropical cyclone Frances formed in the Timor Sea and moved southwest into Western Australian waters. Darwin Airport's wet season rainfall total of 2484.4 mm was its third-highest on record.
Seasonal detail
October 2016: wet and hot in the north, cool in the south
A strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole in winter and spring, combined with warm waters to the north helped contribute to an early start to shower and storm activity across the Top End. Temperatures were above average over the Top End during the "build up" months of October and November. However Darwin Airport's maximum temperature only reached 26.7 °C on 22 October; its second-lowest October maximum temperature on record, as overnight thunderstorms left Darwin blanketed by thick cloud. The Top End had its highest number of severe thunderstorms during the build up, peaking in November.
November 2016: average rainfall throughout, warm in the north
The most significant events in November included widespread wind damage to vegetation in the Palmerston and Darwin River Dam regions on the 5th; a dust storm was reported in association with a severe wind gust of 96 km/h recorded at Alice Springs on the 11th, and small hail was reported at Howard Springs on the 16th (not actually a severe thunderstorm, but a rare occurrence).
December 2016 : wet throughout
The first half of December was very dry across all parts of the NT apart from the far south. The monsoon trough first formed in the Southern Hemisphere during the first week of December and became active over water north of Australia on 17 December. A tropical low developed off the NT's northwest coast on the 18th and tracked southwards, roughly parallel to the Territory's west coast, before crossing the northern Kimberley coast on the 21st.
As the monsoon trough drifted south and connected to the tropical low in the Kimberley from the 21st, widespread rainfall of between 50 mm and 200 mm fell across the Top End, with peak falls in excess of 400 mm reported along the west coast. The low combined with ex-tropical cyclone Yvette to form a tropical depression which tracked across inland Western Australia and Central Australia, producing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding in the southern NT between the 25th and 28th. This contributed to above average rainfall across the NT for December.
January 2017: wet throughout
January began with a monsoon break, before the monsoon trough strengthened and impacted the Top End around 22 January, delivering widespread rainfall totals between 50 mm to 150 mm, with peak falls exceeding 250 mm associated with a tropical low which tracked westwards across the base of the Top End. Further inland, a persistent tropical air mass brought well above average rainfall to much of the central and southern NT, leading to ongoing flooding in some parts.
Overall, the NT had a wetter than average January, with Territory-wide total rainfall almost twice the long term January average, and the eighth-wettest January on record. Minimum temperatures were slightly above average throughout the Territory, owing to above average cloud cover and humidity.
February 2017: wet in the north
February began with a monsoon burst that was enhanced by the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), although this was the only time during the wet season the MJO was at moderate strength as it passed through Australian longitudes. This was the strongest monsoon burst to hit the Top End this wet season. Darwin Airport recorded 201. 8 mm on the 5th, its 11th-highest daily total on record. Shoal Bay recorded 290. 0mm on the same day.
The monsoon trough drifted further south, with tropical cyclone Alfred forming in the Gulf of Carpentaria at mid-month. Alfred was the first tropical cyclone in the Northern Region since Nathan in March 2015. Moderate to heavy rainfall shifted to the eastern Carpentaria District, and Centre Island and Bing Bong Port had their highest total February rainfall on record, including 461. 2 mm between the 19th and 21st at Central Island. Maximum temperatures were below average across the base of the Top End and central parts of the Territory, owing to above average cloud cover and rainfall.
March 2017: dry in the south, hot throughout
During the first week of March the monsoon became active again over northern Australia as tropical cyclone Blanche dragged the pre-existing monsoon trough south. Blanche crossed the Kimberley coast on the 6th, the latest date for the first tropical cyclone landfall since reliable satellite records commenced in the 1970s. The previous record was TC Charlie on 1 March 1988. Point Fawcett, on the Tiwi Islands, recorded the highest rainfall observation during Blanche's passage with a 24-hour total of 384 mm. The monsoon trough quickly weakened after Blanche, as the passage of a relatively weak MJO did not significantly affect rainfall over northern Australia.
March saw above average maximum and minimum temperatures for most of the Territory; the Territory-wide mean temperature was the fourth-highest ever recorded, and highest since 1992, at 1.96 °C above the long-term average. Several sites in the southern half of the NT had their highest March mean daily maximum temperature on record, while Yulara had its highest March mean daily maximum temperature in the last 30 years. Alice Springs' mean daily maximum temperature was a new record and 4.2 °C above its March average.
April 2017: wet in the northeast and southwest corners; a record cold day in Darwin
The monsoon trough mostly remained over waters north of Australia at the beginning of April. It dipped south briefly to affect some of the northern coast for a day before dry air from Central Australia was directed into a tropical low, weakening the monsoon trough. The trough did not reform after this. Northeastern Arnhem Land received above average rainfall, with some locations receiving more than 400 mm during the month.
The Darwin area had an unusually cold day on the 11th. East to southeasterly winds brought dry air to the Top End, while a tropical low was located near the Tiwi Islands. During the day, widespread rain fell, causing evaporative cooling. This cold air was drawn over Darwi, which recorded a maximum temperature of 21.9 °C on the 11th, its coldest April day and its coldest wet season day on record, beating the previous wet season record of 24.0 °C. It was also the third-coldest maximum temperature on record for any time of year. A number of other locations also recorded their coldest April day on record during this event.
A tropical low formed to north of the Solomon Islands during the middle of April and slowly moved west into Northern Territory waters and strengthened. It was named tropical cyclone Frances on the 27th and moved southwest into Western Australian waters.
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 October to April 2016-17 | |
---|---|
Hottest day | 44.7 °C at Rabbit Flat on 17 Dec 2016 |
Warmest days on average | 36.7 °C at Rabbit Flat |
Coolest days on average | 31.4 °C at McCluer Island |
Coldest day | 19.6 °C at Arltunga on 28 Apr 2017 |
Coldest night | 2.2 °C at Arltunga on 24 Oct 2016 |
Coolest nights on average | 18.0 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
Warmest nights on average | 26.7 °C at McCluer Island |
Warmest night | 31.9 °C at Victoria River Downs on 10 Dec 2016 |
Warmest on average overall | 30.7 °C at Bradshaw |
Coolest on average overall | 26.0 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
Wettest overall | 2727.5 mm at Channel Point |
Wettest day | 384.0 mm at Point Fawcett on 5 Mar 2017 |
Strongest wind gust | 113 km/h at Centre Island on 20 Feb 2017 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Maps | |||
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Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
Total rainfall |
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Monthly maps | |||
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Rainfall rank | Maximum temperature rank | Minimum temperature rank | |
October 2016 |
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November 2016 |
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December 2016 |
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January 2017 |
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February 2017 |
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March 2017 |
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April 2017 |
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Record highest October to April daily rainfall | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
||||
Montejinni | 212.0 | on 2 Jan 2017 | 206.0 | on 23 Jan 1987 | 47 | |
Labelle Downs | 275.0 | on 24 Jan 2017 | 232.0 | on 13 Jan 2004 | 31 | |
Mulga Park | 107.2 | on 27 Dec 2016 | 89.8 | on 13 Mar 1989 | 31 | |
Point Fawcett | 384.0 | on 5 Mar 2017 | 265.2 | on 16 Feb 2011 | 22 | |
Charles Darwin University | 260.0 | on 6 Feb 2017 | 256.4 | on 3 Jan 1997 | 20 |
Record highest October to April total rainfall | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October to April |
||
Leanyer | 2521.0 | 2441.2 | in 1996 | 23 | 1784.4 |
Bullo River | 1346.9 | 924.3 | in 1993 | 21 | 733.6 |
Highest October to April total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for October to April |
|||
Waterloo | 1260.3 | 1266.4 | in 1975* | 659.4 |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
Record highest October to April temperature | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October to April |
|||
Borroloola Airport | 44.2 | on 6 Nov 2016 | 43.9 | on 15 Nov 2006 | 24 | 35.1 |
Channel Point | 37.7 | on 7 Oct 2016 | 37.6 | on 23 Oct 2008 | 23 | 32.1 |
Record lowest October to April daily maximum temperature | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October to April |
|||
Darwin Airport | 21.9 | on 11 Apr 2017 | 24.0 | on 17 Dec 1954 | 77 | 32.5 |
Pirlangimpi Airport | 23.6 | on 11 Apr 2017 | 25.5 | on 17 Apr 1989 | 37 | 32.7 |
Batchelor Airport | 23.6 | on 11 Apr 2017 | 23.9 | on 16 Feb 2011 | 22 | 34.2 |
Point Fawcett | 23.1 | on 11 Apr 2017 | 26.0 | on 20 Oct 2000 | 20 | 32.3 |
Record highest October to April daily minimum temperature | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October to April |
|||
Victoria River Downs | 31.9 | on 10 Dec 2016 | 31.5 | on 27 Oct 1976 | 53 | 23.5 |
Record lowest October to April temperature | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for October to April |
|||
Borroloola Airport | 9.0 | on 30 Apr 2017 | = 9.0 | on 30 Apr 1999 | 24 | 23.4 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Summary statistics for October to April 2016-17 | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
Mean for October to April 2016-17 |
Diff from average |
Highest for October to April 2016-17 |
Mean for October to April 2016-17 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for October to April 2016-17 |
Total for October to April 2016-17 |
Average for October to April |
Rank of October to April 2016-17 |
Fraction of October to April average |
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Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
Batchelor Airport | 33.5 | -0.7 | 38.7 | 3 Nov 2016 | 23.7 | +0.3 | 16.8 | 12 Apr 2017 | 1372.8 | 1500.7 | average | 91% |
Bradshaw | 36.4 | -0.2 | 42.7 | 28 Nov 2016 | 25.1 | +0.5 | 16.9 | 30 Apr 2017 | ||||
Charles Point | 32.1 | 35.1 | 8 Apr 2017 | 25.5 | 17.8 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2000.4 | |||||
Darwin Airport | 32.5 | 0.0 | 37.5 | 8 Oct 2016 | 25.0 | +0.2 | 18.0 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2475.0 | 1684.3 | v high | 147% |
Delamere Weapons Range | 35.2 | -0.2 | 41.5 | 7 Dec 2016 | 23.6 | 0.0 | 15.1 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1113.6 | 893.7 | high | 125% |
Douglas River | 34.8 | -0.3 | 40.5 | 30 Oct 2016 | 23.3 | +0.3 | 16.2 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1785.0 | 1278.6 | high | 140% |
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 32.4 | +0.1 | 36.7 | 8 Oct 2016 | 25.5 | 0.0 | 18.1 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2350.0 | 1766.7 | v high | 133% |
Jabiru Airport | 34.8 | -0.2 | 39.3 | 19 Oct 2016 | 25.0 | +0.6 | 21.2 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1428.8 | 1501.1 | average | 95% |
Katherine Country Club | 35.7 | 41.5 | 13 Nov 2016 | 24.0 | 15.4 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1301.1 | |||||
McCluer Island | 31.4 | +0.1 | 34.5 | 29 Nov 2016 | 26.7 | +0.2 | 23.3 | 14 Nov 2016 | 1472.2 | 1088.0 | high | 135% |
Middle Point | 34.2 | -0.6 | 38.9 | 16 Nov 2016 | 23.8 | +0.4 | 18.5 | 12 Apr 2017 | 1691.8 | 1352.4 | high | 125% |
Murganella Airstrip | 32.8 | 36.4 | 29 Nov 2016 | 24.1 | 20.9 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1708.4 | |||||
Noonamah Airstrip | 33.8 | 38.4 | 3 Nov 2016 | 24.2 | 17.7 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2105.2 | |||||
Oenpelli Airport | 34.5 | 39.4 | 2 Nov 2016 | 24.7 | 19.7 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1626.2 | |||||
Pirlangimpi Airport | 32.9 | +0.2 | 36.5 | 23 Feb 2017 | 24.4 | +0.4 | 20.7 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2338.8 | 1929.8 | high | 121% |
Point Fawcett | 32.4 | +0.1 | 36.0 | 8 Oct 2016 | 25.0 | +0.2 | 20.2 | 12 Apr 2017 | 2133.8 | 1499.7 | high | 142% |
Point Stuart | 32.9 | 36.5 | 23 Feb 2017 | 21.3 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1720.0 | 1299.4 | average | 132% | |||
Port Keats Airport | 33.4 | -0.2 | 39.0 | 5 Oct 2016 | 24.5 | 0.0 | 16.5 | 15 Oct 2016 | 2020.6 | 1248.0 | high | 162% |
Tindal RAAF | 35.4 | +0.1 | 41.4 | 4 Nov 2016 | 23.9 | +0.2 | 15.0 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1302.2 | 1055.1 | high | 123% |
Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
Cape Wessel | 33.0 | 36.6 | 3 Dec 2016 | 26.0 | 23.3 | 17 Feb 2017 | 1444.0 | 1048.9 | high | 138% | ||
Gove Airport | 32.2 | +0.2 | 35.8 | 29 Nov 2016 | 24.6 | +0.9 | 18.0 | 14 Oct 2016 | 1266.0 | 1301.7 | average | 97% |
Groote Eylandt Airport | 33.2 | -0.3 | 38.8 | 13 Nov 2016 | 24.1 | +0.5 | 14.3 | 14 Oct 2016 | 1531.0 | 1268.2 | average | 121% |
Maningrida Airport | 32.8 | 0.0 | 37.6 | 15 Nov 2016 | 24.5 | +0.1 | 19.3 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1311.8 | 1226.1 | average | 107% |
Milingimbi Airport | 33.1 | +0.2 | 37.2 | 15 Nov 2016 | 25.2 | +0.3 | 19.9 | 14 Oct 2016 | 1688.0 | 1071.8 | high | 157% |
Ngayawili | 32.2 | 0.0 | 36.9 | 15 Nov 2016 | 25.1 | +0.5 | 17.9 | 14 Oct 2016 | 1853.6 | 1415.2 | high | 131% |
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
Borroloola Airport | 35.3 | +0.2 | 44.2 | 6 Nov 2016 | 23.4 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1192.2 | 930.5 | high | 128% |
Bulman | 35.3 | 40.9 | 11 Nov 2016 | 23.8 | 15.4 | 15 Oct 2016 | 1098.0 | 1120.7 | average | 98% | ||
Centre Island | 33.7 | +0.3 | 39.5 | 12 Nov 2016 | 26.3 | 0.0 | 20.3 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1502.8 | 1053.4 | high | 143% |
Daly Waters Airstrip | 36.2 | +0.2 | 43.1 | 7 Nov 2016 | 22.1 | -0.6 | 10.8 | 30 Apr 2017 | 983.0 | 668.6 | high | 147% |
McArthur River Mine Airport | 36.1 | -0.5 | 42.5 | 4 Nov 2016 | 24.2 | +0.7 | 10.2 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1065.4 | 762.6 | high | 140% |
Ngukurr Airport | 36.1 | 42.7 | 9 Nov 2016 | 24.6 | 13.8 | 30 Apr 2017 | 1028.4 | |||||
Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
Lajamanu Airport | 36.6 | +0.1 | 44.1 | 8 Nov 2016 | 22.5 | +0.3 | 11.4 | 30 Apr 2017 | 599.0 | 490.0 | high | 122% |
Victoria River Downs | 36.1 | -0.4 | 43.0 | 29 Nov 2016 | 23.7 | +0.2 | 13.0 | 14 Oct 2016 | 964.6 | 645.8 | v high | 149% |
Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
Brunette Downs | 35.4 | -1.0 | 42.2 | 6 Dec 2016 | 22.2 | -0.5 | 10.0 | 30 Apr 2017 | 718.6 | 400.2 | v high | 180% |
Elliott | 35.8 | -1.3 | 42.5 | 30 Nov 2016 | 23.0 | +0.3 | 11.4 | 30 Apr 2017 | 868.9 | 583.3 | high | 149% |
Tennant Creek Airport | 35.2 | -0.1 | 42.5 | 9 Nov 2016 | 22.9 | -0.5 | 13.0 | 29 Apr 2017 | 651.9 | 447.1 | high | 146% |
Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
Alice Springs Airport | 34.1 | +0.9 | 42.2 | 2 Dec 2016 | 18.0 | +0.1 | 3.4 | 23 Oct 2016 | ||||
Curtin Springs | 34.3 | 0.0 | 42.0 | 26 Mar 2017 | 18.4 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 3 Oct 2016 | 339.6 | 172.5 | high | 197% |
Jervois | 35.3 | 0.0 | 43.7 | 2 Dec 2016 | 19.5 | +0.2 | 6.6 | 18 Oct 2016 | 285.4 | 234.5 | average | 122% |
Rabbit Flat | 36.7 | -0.5 | 44.7 | 17 Dec 2016 | 21.0 | -0.4 | 7.6 | 29 Apr 2017 | 552.0 | 449.0 | high | 123% |
Territory Grape Farm | 34.5 | -0.3 | 41.6 | 1 Dec 2016 | 18.5 | -0.7 | 4.9 | 29 Apr 2017 | ||||
Walungurru Airport | 36.1 | -0.9 | 43.4 | 9 Nov 2016 | 10.3 | 3 Oct 2016 | 655.8 | 259.1 | v high | 253% | ||
Yulara Airport | 34.4 | -0.4 | 42.2 | 1 Dec 2016 | 18.7 | -0.3 | 3.7 | 17 Oct 2016 | 362.0 | 218.6 | high | 166% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal 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 12 pm on Tuesday 2 May 2017. 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