Friday, 1 May 2020 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGCC2R0

Northern Territory in October to April 2019-20: Low rainfall and very warm temperatures

Nearly the entire Northern Territory saw below average rainfall totals during the 2019-20 wet season. Both daytime and overnight temperatures both ranked as the second-highest on record as nearly all locations had temperatures in the highest 10% of their long-term record.

Back-to-back dry wet seasons

• The Northern Territory had a second season of below average rainfall, immediately following a dry 2018-19 wet season. Territory-wide, rainfall was 20% below the long-term average. Only a few parts of the eastern NT saw average or above average rainfall for the wet season. The north-western, the far north, and the south-western NT, had seasonal rainfall totals in the lowest 10% of historical records since 1900.The primary climate driver responsible for the low rainfall was the near-record strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) which dominated Australia during the second half of 2019
• The positive IOD contributed to the late monsoon onset of 18 January, 3 weeks later than average. Following this initial monsoon activity, two other relatively weak and short-lived monsoon bursts were observed, contributing to moderate widespread rainfall over the NT. Below average tropical low/cyclone activity during 2019-20 also contributed to the relatively dry conditions
• Despite the dry conditions, some sites in the western Top End had their highest daily October to April rainfall on record, as the tropical low which developed into TC Claudia passed to the north
• Tropical cyclone Esther was responsible for some isolated heavy falls in late February, as the system first developed near the southern Gulf of Carpentaria coast, and looped across the NT and northern Western Australia mostly as an ex-tropical cyclone till early March

Very warm daytime and overnight temperatures throughout

• The mean maximum temperature average across the Northern Territory during the October 2019 to April 2020 period was 2.13 °C above the long-term average. This was the second-highest on record, behind the wet season of 2018-19 (2.52 °C above average)
• Virtually the entire Top End had record high mean maximum temperatures, while the remainder of the NT had mean maximum temperatures among the top 10% of all records
• Many sites over the Top End, including Darwin, Tindal and Jabiru, along with Yulara in the southern NT, had their highest October to April mean daily maximum temperature on record
• December was a notably warm month in 2019-20, with many sites, including Alice Springs, Tindal, Yulara and Borroloola having their highest October to April temperature on record during early December and around Christmas Day; some of these records were also annual high temperature records
• Most of the Territory had mean minimum temperatures during the wet season that were in the top 20% of all records, with a significant proprtion exceeding the top 10% of records
• Territory-wide, the mean minimum temperauture was 1.45 °C above the long-term average. This was the second-highest on record, behind only the wet season of 2018-19 (1.94 °C above average). The mean temperture across the NT was 1.79 °C above the long-term average; second-highest on record, behind the wet season of 2018-19 (2.23 °C above average)
• Yulara, in the southern NT, had its highest October to April mean daily minimum temperature on record. Many sites, including Darwin, Tindal and Yulara had their warmest October to April night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record. These were recorded during the hot spell associated with the record high maximum temperatures during December 2019

Tropical cyclones

• The Northern Territory was affected by two tropical cyclones during wet season 2019-20
• A tropical low moved across the Top End before moving over the Timor Sea and became TC Claudia in the first half of January, and while no significant wind impacts were observed, the low generated very heavy rain across parts of the northwest Top End
• TC Esther made landfall near the NT/Qld border in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, late in February, generating heavy rainfall across parts of the Carpentaria, Daly and southern Arnhem districts. As an ex-TC, Esther subsequently tracked westwards through northern Western Australia and then through much of the central NT, in early March, generating locally heavy rainfall

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 1180.0 mm, which is 70% of the long-term average of 1676.1 mm. This is the first time on record that Darwin has had a successive sub-1200 mm rainfall total during a wet season
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 33.9 °C, which is 1.4 °C above the long-term average of 32.5 °C and highest on record. The warmest day was 38.2 °C on 21 October, and the coolest day was on 9 March when the temperature reached 27.0 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 25.6 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 24.8 °C, and the highest since 1987. The coldest morning was 20.5 °C on 11 April, and the warmest morning was on 27 December when the minimum temperature was 30.2 °C (highest minimum temperature on record)

Alice Springs Airport

• Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 91.8 mm, which is 42% of the long-term average of 216.8 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 35.8 °C, which is 2.5 °C above the long-term average of 33.3 °C. The warmest day was 45.7 °C on the 25 December (highest temperature on record), and the coolest day was on 30 April when the temperature reached 19.4 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 19.4 °C, which is 1.5 °C above the long-term average of 17.9 °C. The coldest morning was 8.7 °C on 10 October, and the warmest morning was on 10 January when the minimum temperature was 31.0 °C

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

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Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top