Tuesday, 1 October 2019 - Seasonal Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGCC2R0

Northern Territory in May to September 2019: Warmer than average dry season; little rainfall in the south

Daytime and nighttime temperatures were above average during the dry season of 2019, although overall the departures from average were less than one degree celsius. Rainfall was about half of the long-term average for the Northern Territory during the 5-month period. While the Top End had above average rainfall, it was mostly well below average across southern parts of the NT.

Days and nights a bit warmer than average

• Most of the Northern Territory had warmer than usual daytime temperatures, apart from parts of the Top End, a small region in the central NT and an area in the far southeast. Territory-wide, the mean daily maximum temperature was 0.77 °C above the long-term average
• Most of the Top End and the southern third of the NT had below average nighttime temperatures; in between there was a region which had overnight temperatures generally between 1 and 1.5 °C above average
• Overall, the mean daily minimum temperature was 0.21 °C above the long-term average. The mean (combined maximum and minimum) temperature was 0.49 °C above average
• No temperature records were set in the NT for the 2019 dry season

Below average rainfall south of the Top End

• Apart from a few isolated regions, rainfall was generally 10 to 50 mm below average south of the Top End
• Significant rain in the south was confined to 2 rainfall events: one around the middle of May and another in the last week of September. There was virtually no rainfall anywhere in the NT between June and August 2019
• The Top End saw most of its rainfall in early May due to an out-of-season tropical trough which formed off the north coast. As a result, Borroloola Airport had its highest May to September daily rainfall on record
• For the May to September period, total rainfall across the Northern Territory was 46% below the long-term average

Darwin Airport

• Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 31.4 mm, which is 71% of the long-term average of 44.2 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 31.9 °C, which is 0.4 °C above the long-term average of 31.5 °C. The warmest day was 36.3 °C on 9 Sep, and the coolest day was on 4 Jun when the temperature reached 26.2 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 20.2 °C, which is 0.7 °C below the long-term average of 20.9 °C. The coldest morning was 12.7 °C on 25 Jun, and the warmest morning was on 5 May when the minimum temperature was 25.6 °C
• Darwin Airport had 71 nights where the temperature fell below 20 °C; well above the average of 51 (records commenced in 1941). This is the highest number since 2014 when there were 75 such nights

Alice Springs Airport

• Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 49.2 mm, which is 77% of the long-term average of 63.6 mm
• The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 23.4 °C, which is 0.8 °C above the long-term average of 22.6 °C. The warmest day was 35.4 °C on the 30 Sep, and the coolest day was on 24 Sep when the temperature reached 13.6 °C
• The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 5.8 °C, which is 0.9 °C below the long-term average of 6.7 °C. The coldest morning was -3.2 °C on the 22 Jun, and the warmest morning was on 20 Sep when the minimum temperature was 22.0 °C
• Alice Springs Airport had 8 days when the temperature fell below 0 °C: the long-term average for the 5-month period is 13

Tropical cyclone Lili

• A late season tropical trough, which developed north of the Top End in early May, led to the development of tropical cyclone Lili which briefly entered Australia's northern region, to the northwest of Darwin, as a category 1 storm. The tropical cyclone did not pass over any point on the Northern Territory coast

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