Summary
A tropical low pressure system formed within the monsoon trough over the Arafura Sea on 11 January and developed into an intense monsoon low north of the Cobourg Peninsula in the NT on 13 January. The low moved south and tracked across the western Top End, then further inland along the WA/NT border during the next few days. The low brought heavy rainfall and squally monsoonal winds to the west and north coasts of the Top End and produced notable rainfall totals in the Daly, Carpentaria, Gregory and Tanami districts.
The monsoon low structure improved as it tracked further inland and continued to deepen to 990 hectopascals (hPa) by 18 January over the western interior of WA. The low then turned west and tracked across the Pilbara and Gascoyne districts, producing further heavy rain along its track.
Event rainfall totals in excess of 300 mm recorded over parts of the Tanami Desert represents around 70% of the average annual rainfall for those areas. Widespread rainfall across northern and central WA led to numerous recording sites breaking their highest daily rainfall records for summer. Localised flooding cut roads throughout the western Top End and inland parts of the NT and also washed out a stretch of the Katherine-Darwin railway.
For more information see the Tropical Low (05U) Report (pdf).
Track and Intensity
