Wednesday 1 October 2025 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGCC2R0
Northern Territory in May to September 2025
Rainfall
- Average rainfall across the Northern Territory during the northern dry season (May to September) was 47.44 mm, 27% above the 1961–1990 average.
- Rainfall was above to very much above average for much of the Northern Territory. This was largely due to a cloud band and trough that brought unseasonable rainfall to parts of the Northern Territory during May, and early season showers and thunderstorms in September.
- Rainfall was below to very much below average for an area of the Carpentaria and Lasseter districts.
- Many sites had their highest May to September daily rainfall on record, with many sites recording their highest daily rainfall on 28 May, including 184.0 mm at Katherine Council.
- Tindal RAAF and Upper Fergusson River had their highest total May to September rainfall on record.
Temperature
- The mean maximum temperature across the Northern Territory during the dry season (May to September) was 0.60 °C above the 1961–1990 average.
- Maximum temperatures were above to very much above average across the Top End and southern parts of the Northern Territory.
- Victoria River Downs and McArthur River Mine Airport had their hottest May to September day (highest daily maximum temperature) on record at 41.7 °C and 40.9 °C respectively, towards the end of September.
- The mean minimum temperature across the Northern Territory was 0.22 °C below the 1961–1990 average.
- Minimum temperatures were above average for areas in the the Top End, east and south, and in contrast below average for large parts of central and southern Northern Territory.
- On 4 August, Tennant Creek Airport had its coldest May to September night (lowest daily minimum temperature) on record at 4.1 °C.
- The mean temperature across the Northern Territory was 0.60 °C above the 1961–1990 average.
Darwin Airport
- Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 54.0 mm, which is 121% of the long-term average of 44.5 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 32.2 °C, which is 0.6 °C above the long-term average of 31.6 °C.
- The warmest day was 36.0 °C on the 7 Sep 2025, and the coolest day was on the 15 Jun 2025 when the temperature reached 28.4 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 21.2 °C, which is 0.2 °C above the long-term average of 21.0 °C.
- The coldest morning was 14.9 °C on the 4 Jul 2025, and the warmest morning was on the 21 Sep 2025 when the minimum temperature was 26.3 °C.
Alice Springs Airport
- Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 77.0 mm, which is 125% of the long-term average of 61.6 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 23.0 °C, which is 0.3 °C above the long-term average of 22.7 °C.
- The warmest day was 36.4 °C on the 29 Sep 2025, and the coolest day was on the 28 May 2025 when the temperature reached 11.3 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 5.5 °C, which is 1.2 °C below the long-term average of 6.7 °C.
- The coldest morning was -2.1 °C on the 2 Aug 2025, and the warmest morning was on the 9 Sep 2025 when the minimum temperature was 19.3 °C.
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in May to September 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day |
41.7 °C at Victoria River Downs on 20 September |
| Warmest days on average |
34.2 °C at Oenpelli Airport |
| Coolest days on average |
23.0 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Coldest day |
11.2 °C at Watarrka on 27 May |
| Coldest night |
-2.1 °C at Alice Springs Airport on 2 August -2.1 °C at Yulara Airport on 23 July |
| Coolest nights on average |
5.5 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Warmest nights on average |
24.4 °C at McCluer Island |
| Warmest night |
27.1 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) on 27 May 27.1 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) on 30 September |
| Warmest on average overall |
27.4 °C at Oenpelli Airport 27.4 °C at Jabiru Airport |
| Coolest on average overall |
14.3 °C at Alice Springs Airport |
| Wettest overall |
200.8 mm at Katherine - Cragborn Rd |
| Wettest day |
197.8 mm at Katherine - Cragborn Rd on 28 May |
| Strongest wind gust |
93.0 km/h at Alice Springs Airport on 25 July |
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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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Record highest May to September daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May to September |
|||
| Katherine Council | 184.0 | on 28 May | 90.9 | on 29 Sep 1895 | 146 | 15.0 |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 61.0 | on 22 September | 52.8 | on 07 May 1990 | 54 | 17.4 |
| Suplejack | 75.0 | on 28 May | 46.8 | on 01 Jul 2023 | 42 | 27.7 |
| Tindal RAAF | 179.8 | on 28 May | 65.4 | on 29 Sep 1986 | 41 | 15.2 |
| Territory Grape Farm | 69.8 | on 28 May | 60.0 | on 21 May 1990 | 37 | 49.0 |
| Rabbit Flat | 77.6 | on 28 May | 41.6 | on 23 Sep 2024 | 28 | 32.5 |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 54.4 | on 28 May | 36.6 | on 29 May 2010 | 27 | 12.2 |
| Geriatric Park | 110.0 | on 12 September | 52.2 | on 13 Jul 2016 | 27 | 50.2 |
| Upper Fergusson River | 89.8 | on 28 May | 49.4 | on 29 Sep 2022 | 25 | 13.6 |
| Point Stuart | 55.8 | on 1 August | 42.4 | on 03 May 2012 | 24 | 30.3 |
| Maningrida Airport | 45.0 | on 5 May | 39.4 | on 06 May 2013 | 21 | 34.7 |
| Central Arnhem Plateau | 38.0 | on 28 May | 35.0 | on 18 May 2010 | 20 | 16.5 |
| Record highest May to September total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May to September |
||
| Tindal RAAF | 181.6 | 146.0 | in 1986 | 41 | 15.2 |
| Upper Fergusson River | 96.8 | 77.2 | in 2022 | 25 | 13.6 |
| Record highest May to September temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May to September |
|||
| Victoria River Downs | 41.7 | on 20 September | 41.4 | on 26 Sep 2022 | 61 | 31.8 |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 40.9 | on 29 September | =40.9 | on 21 Sep 2022 | 49 | 32.1 |
| Record lowest May to September temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for May to September |
|||
| Tennant Creek Airport | 4.1 | on 4 August | 4.5 | on 14 Jul 1978 | 57 | 14.9 |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for May to September 2025 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for May to September 2025 |
Diff from average |
Highest for May to September 2025 |
Mean for May to September 2025 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for May to September 2025 |
Total for May to September 2025 |
Average for May to September |
Rank of May to September 2025 |
Fraction of May to September average |
|||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
| Batchelor Airport | 33.1 | -0.2 | 38.7 | 29 Sep 2025 | 18.4 | +0.3 | 10.5 | 4 Jul 2025 | 44.2 | 36.5 | average | 121% |
| Central Arnhem Plateau | 30.6 | -0.1 | 37.5 | 29 Sep 2025 | 17.5 | +0.2 | 9.3 | 11 Aug 2025 | 54.8 | 16.5 | high | 332% |
| Channel Point | 35.2 | 23 Sep 2025 | 14.1 | 2 Jul 2025 | 19.4 | 28.7 | average | 68% | ||||
| Charles Point | 30.7 | 0.0 | 35.6 | 23 Sep 2025 | 21.7 | -0.4 | 16.8 | 4 Jul 2025 | 48.4 | 45.6 | average | 106% |
| Croker Island Airport | 34.8 | 22 Sep 2025 | 4.8 | 15.8 | low | 30% | ||||||
| Darwin Airport | 32.2 | +0.6 | 36.0 | 7 Sep 2025 | 21.2 | +0.2 | 14.9 | 4 Jul 2025 | 54.0 | 44.5 | high | 121% |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 31.6 | -0.1 | 40.1 | 20 Sep 2025 | 16.8 | -0.3 | 7.9 | 4 Aug 2025 | 57.8 | 12.2 | high | 474% |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 33.5 | -0.1 | 39.1 | 20 Sep 2025 | 15.4 | +0.1 | 6.2 | 4 Aug 2025 | 109.2 | 17.4 | high | 629% |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 32.3 | +1.0 | 37.4 | 23 Sep 2025 | 19.8 | -0.5 | 13.5 | 16 Jun 2025 | 24.6 | 45.2 | average | 54% |
| East Point | 31.8 | 36.2 | 23 Sep 2025 | 21.5 | 15.6 | 4 Jul 2025 | 84.4 | |||||
| Jabiru Airport | 34.0 | +0.4 | 39.7 | 29 Sep 2025 | 20.9 | +0.6 | 14.1 | 12 Aug 2025 | 28.0 | 34.5 | average | 81% |
| Kangaroo Flats (Defence) | 33.7 | 40.0 | 29 Sep 2025 | 20.0 | 12.9 | 4 Jul 2025 | 12.6 | |||||
| Knuckey Lagoon | 32.8 | 36.6 | 11 Sep 2025 | 19.3 | 11.7 | 11 Aug 2025 | 99.8 | |||||
| McCluer Island | 28.7 | +0.2 | 31.6 | 22 Sep 2025 | 24.4 | +0.2 | 21.0 | 3 Aug 2025 | 23.6 | 53.1 | average | 44% |
| Middle Point | 33.7 | -0.2 | 38.5 | 29 Sep 2025 | 17.6 | +0.8 | 10.2 | 20 Aug 2025 | 58.8 | 37.0 | high | 159% |
| Mount Bundey North (Defence) | 33.4 | 39.0 | 29 Sep 2025 | 20.3 | 14.9 | 6 Aug 2025 | 41.4 | |||||
| Mount Bundey South (Defence) | 33.5 | 39.3 | 20 Sep 2025 | 18.4 | 10.6 | 20 Aug 2025 | 109.4 | |||||
| Murganella Airstrip | 32.1 | +0.1 | 35.5 | 30 Sep 2025 | 18.2 | -0.2 | 8.0 | 11 Aug 2025 | 46.6 | 31.4 | high | 149% |
| Noonamah Airstrip | 34.1 | -0.1 | 38.6 | 29 Sep 2025 | 18.6 | +0.1 | 10.8 | 4 Jul 2025 | 16.2 | 36.6 | average | 44% |
| Oenpelli Airport | 34.2 | -0.4 | 38.9 | 29 Sep 2025 | 20.6 | +0.3 | 11.3 | 11 Aug 2025 | 48.6 | 34.0 | high | 143% |
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 32.8 | +0.5 | 36.7 | 24 Sep 2025 | 20.6 | +0.6 | 15.0 | 12 Aug 2025 | 16.2 | 60.9 | low | 27% |
| Point Stuart | 32.0 | -0.2 | 36.5 | 23 Aug 2025 | 19.7 | -0.2 | 12.9 | 11 Aug 2025 | 130.6 | 30.3 | high | 431% |
| Port Keats Airport | 32.3 | 0.0 | 37.4 | 24 Sep 2025 | 18.7 | +0.3 | 10.9 | 5 Aug 2025 | 46.6 | 28.6 | high | 163% |
| Tindal RAAF | 32.3 | -0.1 | 39.2 | 29 Sep 2025 | 16.1 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 3 Aug 2025 | 181.6 | 15.2 | highest | 1194% |
| Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
| Gove Airport | 29.5 | 34.1 | 30 Sep 2025 | 21.9 | 15.9 | 11 Aug 2025 | 99.2 | |||||
| Groote Eylandt Airport | 29.9 | -0.4 | 36.7 | 30 Sep 2025 | 18.4 | +1.2 | 10.4 | 5 Aug 2025 | 38.0 | 46.6 | average | 82% |
| Maningrida Airport | 31.5 | 0.0 | 36.2 | 23 Sep 2025 | 20.0 | +0.3 | 13.0 | 15 Jun 2025 | 58.8 | 34.7 | high | 169% |
| Milingimbi Airport | 36.4 | 23 Sep 2025 | 20.5 | -0.1 | 13.3 | 11 Aug 2025 | 70.6 | 38.1 | high | 185% | ||
| Ngayawili | 30.7 | 0.0 | 34.4 | 22 Sep 2025 | 21.2 | +0.5 | 13.2 | 11 Aug 2025 | 57.0 | 38.2 | high | 149% |
| Warruwi Airport | 30.2 | +0.3 | 34.2 | 22 Sep 2025 | 22.8 | +0.2 | 17.6 | 12 Aug 2025 | 15.6 | 22.5 | average | 69% |
| Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
| Borroloola Airport | 32.3 | +0.1 | 39.8 | 29 Sep 2025 | 14.2 | -0.2 | 4.9 | 14 Jun 2025 | 0.2 | 13.5 | v low | 2% |
| Bulman | 32.2 | -0.5 | 40.1 | 30 Sep 2025 | 15.8 | -0.4 | 6.5 | 15 Jun 2025 | 30.6 | 28.5 | high | 107% |
| Centre Island | 27.8 | -0.5 | 33.4 | 30 Sep 2025 | 20.7 | +0.2 | 15.8 | 5 Aug 2025 | 3.2 | 18.2 | low | 18% |
| Daly Waters Airstrip | 31.8 | +0.6 | 40.0 | 30 Sep 2025 | 13.0 | -1.0 | 1.3 | 4 Aug 2025 | 10.8 | 13.9 | average | 78% |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 32.5 | +0.4 | 40.9 | 29 Sep 2025 | 14.8 | +0.2 | 4.6 | 21 Jul 2025 | 0.0 | 11.6 | lowest | 0% |
| Ngukurr Airport | 32.4 | -0.6 | 41.0 | 30 Sep 2025 | 6.8 | 3 Aug 2025 | 0.2 | 15.4 | v low | 1% | ||
| Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
| Bradshaw | 33.7 | -0.2 | 40.6 | 20 Sep 2025 | 16.8 | -1.1 | 7.5 | 4 Aug 2025 | 36.8 | 15.5 | high | 238% |
| Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) | 33.6 | 40.9 | 20 Sep 2025 | 18.7 | 9.5 | 4 Aug 2025 | 1.8 | |||||
| Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence) | 33.3 | 39.6 | 30 Sep 2025 | 13.9 | 3.9 | 4 Aug 2025 | 68.0 | |||||
| Lajamanu Airport | 29.6 | -0.1 | 40.2 | 30 Sep 2025 | 12.3 | 0.0 | 3.3 | 3 Aug 2025 | 69.8 | 23.4 | high | 299% |
| Victoria River Downs | 32.8 | +1.0 | 41.7 | 20 Sep 2025 | 13.7 | -0.3 | 4.7 | 3 Aug 2025 | 1.0 | 16.6 | average | 6% |
| Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
| Elliott | 40.8 | 30 Sep 2025 | 2.0 | 9 Jul 2025 | 28.0 | 20.5 | high | 137% | ||||
| Tennant Creek Airport | 27.2 | -0.1 | 38.4 | 30 Sep 2025 | 14.4 | -0.5 | 4.1 | 4 Aug 2025 | 53.6 | 30.7 | high | 175% |
| Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
| Alice Springs Airport | 23.0 | +0.3 | 36.4 | 29 Sep 2025 | 5.5 | -1.2 | -2.1 | 2 Aug 2025 | 77.0 | 61.6 | high | 125% |
| Curtin Springs | 36.5 | 29 Sep 2025 | 7.0 | +0.3 | -1.5 | 23 Jul 2025 | 39.2 | 59.5 | average | 66% | ||
| Jervois | 24.2 | -0.7 | 37.7 | 29 Sep 2025 | 8.2 | +0.1 | -1.3 | 3 Aug 2025 | 98.6 | 53.1 | high | 186% |
| Rabbit Flat | 28.7 | -0.4 | 40.8 | 30 Sep 2025 | 8.7 | -1.1 | -1.4 | 30 Jun 2025 | 99.0 | 32.5 | high | 304% |
| Walungurru Airport | 25.9 | -0.6 | 37.6 | 29 Sep 2025 | 12.7 | -0.6 | 5.1 | 26 Jul 2025 | 35.0 | 47.9 | average | 73% |
| Watarrka | 34.5 | 28 Sep 2025 | -0.8 | 24 Jun 2025 | 52.9 | 59.9 | average | 88% | ||||
| Yulara Airport | 23.6 | -0.1 | 36.4 | 29 Sep 2025 | 7.2 | -0.1 | -2.1 | 23 Jul 2025 | 42.8 | 60.5 | average | 71% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Seasonal 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 Wednesday 1 October 2025. 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
