Wednesday, 3 January 2007 - Annual Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC32R0
Cool and wet in the north, hot and dry in the south - Northern Territory in 2006
Overall 2006 in the Territory can be characterised as being cooler and wetter than normal in the north, while being drier and warmer than normal in the south. Alice Springs recorded two remarkable hot spells, the first in January, and the second in November. The hot temperatures compounded long-term rainfall deficiencies in the southeast of the Territory. A vigourous monsoon, and its late breakdown with TC Monica in late April, accounted for the greater than average rainfall in the north. El Niño conditions contributed to warmer days in the south and cooler nights in the north during the dry season and build-up months. Also consistent with El Niño conditions, the summer monsoon failed to develop by the end of the year, there was a generally dry build-up over the Top End, and long-term rainfall deficiencies persisted in the southeast.Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Rainfall
Several rainfall recording sites in the northern half recorded record high annual rainfall totals. Much of this rain fell during active bursts of the monsoon between January and April, with TC Monica extending heavy wet season rains through to the end of April. Following a typically dry dry-season, the build-up period was mostly drier than usual, consistent with El Niño influences. The southern half saw drier than average conditions persist for much of the year, with serious long-term deficiencies evident in the southeast corner.
Some sites had their highest annual rainfall on record.
Temperature
While active bursts of the monsoon brought cooler temperatures to northern parts of the Territory, southern parts suffered torrid conditions early in the year, with Alice Springs recording an extreme hot spell which included 32 consecutive days 37°CC or above, and 3 consecutive nights where the temperature failed to fall below 30°CC. It was during this spell that Jervois experienced the hottest night ever recorded in the Territory, of 33.7°CC on 5 January. Despite a couple of cool spells, the southern half of the Territory was warmer than normal for much of the year, with another record hot spell at Alice Springs during November.
In the north, temperatures were mostly cooler than normal, both during the vigorous monsoon bursts early in the year, then persisting through the dry season, with dry southeasterly winds regularly pushing through the Top End. In the build-up, night-time temperatures remained cooler than normal, but less than typical shower and thunderstorm activity meant there were fewer cool days.Some sites had their highest temperature on record.
Some sites had their lowest mean daily maximum temperature on record.
Some sites had their warmest night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record.
Some sites had their highest mean daily minimum temperature on record.
Some sites had their lowest mean daily minimum temperature on record.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Extremes
| Hottest day Highest temperature |
45.8°C at Elliott on 10 Jan |
|---|---|
| Warmest days on average Highest mean daily maximum temperature |
34.3°C at Timber Creek |
| Coolest days on average Lowest mean daily maximum temperature |
28.9°C at Arltunga |
| Coldest day Lowest daily maximum temperature |
10.5°C at Watarrka on 14 Jul |
| Coldest night Lowest temperature | −4.8°C at Arltunga on 21 Jun |
| Coolest nights on average Lowest mean daily minimum temperature |
14.2°C at Alice Springs Airport and Arltunga and Territory Grape Farm AWS |
| Warmest nights on average Highest mean daily minimum temperature |
24.4°C at Cape Don AWS |
| Warmest night Highest daily minimum temperature |
33.7°C at Jervois on 5 Jan |
| Wettest overall Highest total rainfall | 2550.4 mm at Channel Point |
| Wettest day Highest daily rainfall |
304.0 mm at Majestic Orchids on the 26 Apr |
| Highest wind gust |
98 km/h at Centre Island AWS on 8 Jan and Tennant Creek Airport on 18 Feb |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Records
| Record highest total rainfall for 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total rainfall (mm) |
Previous highest |
Normal | Years of record |
||
Timber Creek |
1193.8 |
1144.1 |
in 2005 |
921.1 |
22 |
Wollogorang |
1789.6 |
1552.9 |
in 2003 |
959.0 |
20 |
Jabiru Airport AWS |
2099.8 |
2045.1 |
in 1984 |
1478.2 |
14 |
| Record lowest mean maximum temperature for 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean maximum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest |
Normal | Years of record |
||
Gove Airport |
29.9 |
30.0 |
in 1972 |
30.7 |
25 |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
33.2 |
33.3 |
in 2000 |
34.2 |
19 |
Mango Farm |
33.2 |
33.5 |
in 1982 |
34.1 |
17 |
| Record highest daily maximum temperature for 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily maximum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest |
Normal | Years of record |
|||
Daly Waters AWS |
44.5 |
on 15 Nov |
43.7 |
on 2 Jan 1963 |
33.8 |
32 |
Timber Creek |
43.7 |
on 15 Nov |
43.4 |
on 27 Dec 1992 |
34.9 |
23 |
Tindal RAAF AWS |
42.5 |
on 10 Nov |
42.3 |
on 23 Oct 2002 |
33.8 |
14 |
Black Point AWS |
35.5 |
on 19 Dec |
35.3 |
on 24 Oct 1998 |
31.3 |
11 |
| Record highest mean daily minimum temperature for 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest |
Normal | Years of record |
||
Jervois |
16.3 |
16.2 |
in 2005 |
14.4 |
24 |
| Record lowest mean daily minimum temperature for 2006 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous lowest |
Normal | Years of record |
||
Daly Waters AWS |
17.9 |
18.3 |
in 1940 |
19.4 |
31 |
Larrimah |
18.6 |
18.7 |
in 1982 |
19.9 |
27 |
Tindal RAAF AWS |
19.3 |
19.5 |
in 2002 |
20.7 |
15 |
| Record highest daily minimum temperature for 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Highest daily minimum temperature (°C) |
Previous highest |
Normal | Years of record |
|||
Jervois |
33.7 |
on 5 Jan |
32.9 |
on 7 Jan 2004 |
14.4 |
24 |
Jump to: Extremes Records Summaries Notes the top
Summaries
| Summary statistics for 2006 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for 2006 |
Diff from normal |
Highest for 2006 |
Mean for 2006 |
Diff from normal |
Lowest for 2006 |
Total for 2006 |
Normal annual total |
Rank of 2006 |
Fraction of annual normal |
|||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
Batchelor Aero AWS |
33.1 |
39.8 |
2 Dec |
20.5 |
9.1 |
20 Jul |
1931.8 |
|||||
Black Point |
31.2 |
−0.1 |
35.5 |
19 Dec |
23.9 |
−0.1 |
15.8 |
1 Sep |
||||
Cape Don AWS |
30.5 |
34.8 |
19 Nov |
24.4 |
19.2 |
19 Jul |
1223.2 |
|||||
Central Arnhem Plateau AWS |
30.9 |
38.3 |
30 Oct |
19.9 |
9.0 |
6 Aug |
1712.8 |
|||||
Darwin Airport |
31.8 |
−0.2 |
37.0 |
8 Sep |
22.4 |
−0.8 |
13.6 |
20 Jul |
1804.6 |
1700.4 |
normal |
106% |
Delamere Weapons Range AWS |
33.0 |
43.0 |
1 Dec |
20.1 |
9.0 |
13 Jun |
1058.4 |
|||||
Douglas River |
33.4 |
−1.0 |
40.5 |
16 Nov |
19.5 |
−0.5 |
7.0 |
31 Aug |
||||
Dum In Mirrie AWS |
31.2 |
36.5 |
8 Sep |
22.4 |
12.7 |
31 May |
1347.4 |
|||||
Jabiru Airport AWS |
33.9 |
−0.3 |
39.7 |
21 Oct |
22.2 |
−0.3 |
12.9 |
19 Jul |
2099.8 |
1478.2 |
highest |
142% |
Katherine Aviation Museum |
33.2 |
−1.0 |
42.5 |
15 Nov |
19.3 |
−1.1 |
6.3 |
30 May |
||||
Mango Farm |
33.2 |
−0.9 |
40.8 |
15 Nov |
20.2 |
−0.3 |
8.1 |
20 Jul |
1750.2 |
1331.3 |
very high |
131% |
Middle Point AWS |
33.4 |
40.2 |
31 Oct |
19.9 |
7.4 |
5 Aug |
1780.4 |
|||||
Oenpelli |
40.1 |
10 Nov |
12.9 |
19 Jul |
1561.5 |
1396.2 |
normal |
112% |
||||
Pine Creek Council |
32.6 |
39.9 |
2 Dec |
20.8 |
11.1 |
30 May |
1763.0 |
|||||
Pirlangimpi AWS |
31.9 |
−0.2 |
36.4 |
5 Dec |
22.2 |
+0.2 |
13.4 |
20 Jul |
1595.0 |
2042.5 |
low |
78% |
Point Fawcett AWS |
30.9 |
34.4 |
20 Nov |
21.6 |
10.9 |
20 Jul |
1577.2 |
|||||
Port Keats Aero |
37.9 |
6 Dec |
10.7 |
31 May |
687.6 |
|||||||
Tindal RAAF AWS |
33.3 |
−0.5 |
42.5 |
10 Nov |
19.3 |
−1.3 |
6.0 |
30 May |
984.4 |
1144.4 |
low |
86% |
Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
Alyangula Police |
30.6 |
−0.8 |
36.5 |
5 Dec |
22.2 |
−0.3 |
13.2 |
19 Jul |
1390.8 |
1159.0 |
high |
120% |
Gove Airport |
29.9 |
−0.8 |
36.3 |
10 Nov |
22.2 |
−0.2 |
12.1 |
31 Aug |
1858.4 |
1427.4 |
very high |
130% |
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS |
31.5 |
38.2 |
11 Nov |
20.1 |
8.0 |
18 Jul |
1142.6 |
|||||
Maningrida |
35.6 |
9 Jan |
11.0 |
1 Jul |
963.5 |
1316.5 |
low |
73% |
||||
Maningrida Aero AWS |
31.6 |
35.5 |
9 Jan |
21.9 |
11.8 |
19 Jul |
769.4 |
|||||
Milingimbi AWS |
31.5 |
36.3 |
10 Nov |
22.4 |
12.8 |
19 Jul |
745.2 |
|||||
Ngayawili AWS |
31.0 |
35.3 |
23 Nov |
22.4 |
12.5 |
5 Aug |
2044.8 |
|||||
Warruwi |
31.0 |
−0.2 |
35.7 |
5 Dec |
24.0 |
−0.3 |
16.9 |
19 Jul |
741.0 |
1163.9 |
low |
64% |
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
Borroloola AWS |
32.7 |
−1.1 |
43.9 |
15 Nov |
19.1 |
−0.8 |
5.5 |
19 Jul |
1182.8 |
|||
Centre Island AWS |
30.9 |
−0.4 |
39.2 |
8 Jan |
23.5 |
−0.4 |
14.7 |
13 Jun |
1582.8 |
999.9 |
high |
158% |
Daly Waters AWS |
33.6 |
−0.2 |
44.5 |
15 Nov |
17.9 |
−1.5 |
4.2 |
27 Jul |
818.4 |
627.8 |
high |
130% |
Larrimah |
33.1 |
−0.9 |
43.1 |
15 Nov |
18.6 |
−1.3 |
4.5 |
30 May |
870.9 |
844.3 |
normal |
103% |
McArthur River Mine |
33.6 |
−0.8 |
43.8 |
15 Nov |
19.3 |
−0.2 |
5.9 |
7 Aug |
768.6 |
751.9 |
normal |
102% |
Ngukurr |
33.6 |
43.6 |
10 Nov |
21.1 |
0 |
10.6 |
19 Jul |
799.2 |
741.5 |
normal |
108% |
|
Wollogorang |
32.7 |
−1.0 |
43.6 |
2 Dec |
18.4 |
−0.2 |
5.4 |
7 Aug |
1789.6 |
959.0 |
highest |
187% |
Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
Kidman Springs |
34.0 |
−1.0 |
44.0 |
10 Nov |
19.5 |
−0.8 |
6.6 |
20 Jul |
||||
Lajamanu AWS |
33.0 |
44.0 |
1 Dec |
17.1 |
3.0 |
30 May |
871.8 |
492.0 |
very high |
177% |
||
Timber Creek |
34.3 |
−0.6 |
43.7 |
15 Nov |
20.1 |
−1.2 |
7.6 |
31 May |
1193.8 |
921.1 |
highest |
130% |
Victoria River Downs |
33.3 |
−1.1 |
42.8 |
2 Dec |
18.4 |
−1.3 |
3.0 |
12 Jun |
826.6 |
637.0 |
high |
130% |
Wave Hill |
33.3 |
−0.9 |
44.6 |
10 Jan |
17.8 |
−1.2 |
2.4 |
7 Aug |
752.9 |
692.8 |
normal |
109% |
Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
Brunette Downs |
32.8 |
−0.7 |
44.2 |
9 Jan |
18.6 |
−0.2 |
3.0 |
13 Jun |
577.4 |
415.5 |
high |
139% |
Elliott |
45.8 |
10 Jan |
7.0 |
13 Jun |
966.7 |
590.2 |
very high |
164% |
||||
Tennant Creek Airport |
31.3 |
−0.5 |
43.6 |
10 Jan |
19.4 |
−0.4 |
6.1 |
13 Jun |
609.2 |
456.3 |
high |
134% |
Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
Ali Curung |
31.9 |
−0.5 |
44.1 |
1 Dec |
16.5 |
−0.2 |
1.0 |
20 Jun |
494.2 |
385.3 |
high |
128% |
Alice Springs Airport |
29.9 |
+1.2 |
43.3 |
17 Feb |
14.2 |
+1.0 |
−3.8 |
13 Jun |
143.2 |
282.8 |
low |
51% |
Arltunga |
28.9 |
42.1 |
29 Nov |
14.2 |
−4.8 |
21 Jun |
137.9 |
290.7 |
low |
47% |
||
Curtin Springs |
30.7 |
+1.1 |
44.5 |
10 Jan |
14.7 |
+1.4 |
−2.4 |
8 Jun |
||||
Jervois |
31.5 |
+0.5 |
45.3 |
30 Nov |
16.3 |
+1.8 |
0.5 |
9 Jul |
144.8 |
291.3 |
low |
50% |
Kulgera |
29.3 |
+1.0 |
44.7 |
29 Nov |
14.9 |
+0.9 |
−4.5 |
13 Jun |
126.9 |
258.0 |
low |
49% |
Papunya |
31.3 |
43.5 |
26 Nov |
15.8 |
−0.7 |
21 Jun |
||||||
Rabbit Flat |
33.0 |
−0.8 |
44.6 |
1 Dec |
15.7 |
−1.1 |
−0.4 |
21 Jun |
693.4 |
|||
Territory Grape Farm AWS |
30.8 |
43.0 |
11 Jan |
14.2 |
−1.0 |
20 Jun |
296.6 |
322.9 |
normal |
92% |
||
Watarrka |
31.0 |
+0.4 |
49.0 |
31 Dec |
16.7 |
+1.0 |
−2.0 |
10 Jun |
105.9 |
317.4 |
low |
33% |
Wulungurru AWS |
32.7 |
45.5 |
11 Jan |
19.6 |
2.4 |
13 Jun |
364.4 |
|||||
Yuendumu |
31.1 |
+0.6 |
42.8 |
10 Jan |
14.9 |
−0.8 |
−1.1 |
21 Jun |
380.1 |
370.6 |
normal |
103% |
Yulara Aero AWS |
30.3 |
+0.3 |
43.6 |
26 Nov |
14.8 |
+0.8 |
−1.2 |
20 Jun |
234.6 |
302.6 |
normal |
78% |
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Notes
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 10 am on Wednesday 3 January 2007. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
Normals are long-term averages based on observations from the years 1800 to 2005. They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record in that time.
The Rank indicates about where rainfall this time ranks in the climate record for the site.
Further information
NT Climate Services CentreBureau of Meteorology
Phone (08) 8920 3813
Email climate.nt@bom.gov.au