Monday, 4 January 2010 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0

Northern Territory in December 2009: A wet month for the Top End, cooler in the south

Very heavy rains from the low that was to become Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence brought some record breaking falls to some stations accross the Top End, while eastern and southern parts of the Territory remained quite dry. The Alice Springs District did not receive much rain at all with just 11 mm falling at the Airport for the month. In some parts however, rainfall was 100 to 200 mm above average for December with the passage of the low during the middle of the month and the establishment of a trough towards the end of the month. Days were slightly warmer than average accross the Top End and Roper districts while the Barkly and Alice Springs districts were slightly cooler than average.

 

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

Darwin and Daly River regions

Very heavy rains fell during the second week of December as a tropical low passed over Darwin then across the Top End and into the Timor Sea to eventually become Severe Tropical Cyclone Laurence. Many sites received well over 100 mm in just 24 hrs with some exceeding 300 mm over a 48 hr period. Temperatures remained low during this time although overall they were slightly higher for the month.

Rainfall

Rainfall was low across the Territory until about the middle of the month when rainfall began to pick up due to the tropical low and the establishment of a trough toward the end of the month. The Darwin-Daly District received about 100 mm more rain than an average December, while small pockets near Darwin had their highest total December rainfall on record. Some sites such as the Darwin Botanic Gardens, Humpty Doo, Elizabeth Valley and CSIRO Berrimah also had their highest total December rainfall for at least 10 years. Over the 48hr period from the 12th to the 13th, Darwin received 303 mm, Stokes Hill Wharf (city) 343mm and 339mm fell at Berry Springs.

The wettest single day was on the 13th, with 290.2 mm reported at Channel Island, followed by 285.0 mm at Darwin River Dam and 280.0 mm at Walker Creek.

Some sites had their highest December daily rainfall on record.

The wettest overall was 662.3 mm at Darwin River Dam, followed by 625.1 mm at Channel Island, followed by 621.8 mm at Berry Springs Rangers.

There was a chance that Cyclone Laurence would bring wet conditions to the Alice Springs district, but this failed to materialize, with many sites receiving just half of their average December rainfall.

The driest overall was at Walungurru AWS with no rainfall reported, followed by 3.0 mm at Palm Valley and 4.0 mm at Tilmouth Well. Alice Springs Airport received only 11 mm for the month, and that fell on just one day.

 

Maximum temperature

Temperatures during the day were about 0.5C to 1.0C warmer across the top half of the Territory - the Victoria River District reporting temperatures up to 1.5C warmer than climatology. In contrast, temperatures in the south where cooler than average by about 0.5 °C. The first week of December was especially hot, with little rain about. The hottest day was 46.0 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 8th, followed by 45.8 °C at Jervois and 45.6 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 9th.

The warmest days on average were 38.8 °C at Kidman Springs and Victoria River Downs, followed by 38.7 °C at Timber Creek and 38.6 °C at Lajamanu AWS.

The coolest days on average were 32.2 °C at Dum In Mirrie AWS and Point Fawcett AWS, followed by 32.3 °C at Channel Point and 32.7 °C at Cape Don AWS.

The coldest day was on the 11th, with 16.0 °C at Arltunga, 19.1 °C at Territory Grape Farm AWS and 21.0 °C at Alice Springs Airport.

Some sites had their highest December temperature on record. Some sites had their coldest December day (lowest maximum temperature) on record.

Minimum temperature

Minimum temperatures were about average for December, with the occasional warm spot particularly around the Top End, and a few cooler nights in southern parts.

The coldest night was on the 12th, with 12.1 °C at Kulgera followed by 13.2 °C at Arltunga. Alice Springs had 13.8 °C on the 2nd.

The coolest nights on average were 20.0 °C at Kulgera and 20.2 °C at Alice Springs Airport, followed by 21.1 °C at Territory Grape Farm AWS.

The warmest nights on average were 28.3 °C at Northern Endeavour AWS, followed by 27.4 °C at Centre Island AWS and 26.7 °C at Cape Don AWS.

The warmest night was 32.2 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 9th and Jervois on the 24th, followed by 31.0 °C at Northern Endeavour AWS and 30.6 °C at Walungurru AWS on the 8th.

Some sites had their lowest December temperature on record. Some sites had their warmest December night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record. Some sites had their highest December mean daily minimum temperature on record.

 

Other phenomena

A 127 km/hr gust was recorded on a passenger ship anemometer at Darwin Wharf on the 1st, several passengers were blown along the wharf, one passenger was injured. The storm also brought down power lines along the Stuart Highway from Berrimah to Darwin City. Power failures also occurred at Southport and Bynoe Harbour due to lightning strikes.

There was a period of gales on the 10th with damaging wind gusts associated with a low pressure system that passed through the Van Diemen Gulf during the morning. Several severe wind gusts occurred at Darwin Airport during the morning and some tree damage resulted.

The strongest wind gust for December was 119 km/h at Yulara Aero AWS on the 23rd, followed by 100 km/h at Batchelor Aero AWS on the 10th.

 

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Extremes in December 2009
Hottest day	46.0 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 8th
Warmest days on average	38.8 °C at Kidman Springs and Victoria River Downs
Coolest days on average	32.2 °C at Dum In Mirrie AWS
Coldest day	16.0 °C at Arltunga on the 11th
Coldest night	12.1 °C at Kulgera on the 12th
Coolest nights on average	20.0 °C at Kulgera
Warmest nights on average	27.4 °C at Centre Island
Warmest night	32.2 °C at Rabbit Flat on the 9th and Jervois on the 24th
Wettest overall	662.3 mm at Darwin River Dam
Wettest day	290.2 mm at Channel Island on the 13th

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Record highest December daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall (mm)		Previous highest		Years of record
Darwin River Dam	285.0	on the 13th	208.4	on the 10th in 1998	41
Camfield	72.6	on the 22nd	70.0	on the 24th in 2003	40
Hodgson River	138.2	on the 22nd	99.0	on the 27th in 2004	36
Wave Hill	86.0	on the 20th	84.2	on the 24th in 2003	36
Channel Island	290.2	on the 13th	236.4	on the 10th in 1998	34
Litchfield	229.0	on the 13th	137.0	on the 20th in 2008	25
Stokes Hill	273.6	on the 13th	98.4	on the 30th in 2007	23
Batchelor Aero AWS	223.6	on the 13th	114.0	on the 21st in 2003	16
Walker Creek	280.0	on the 13th	157.6	on the 10th in 1998	16
Coolibah	73.6	on the 20th	69.8	on the 15th in 2008	14
Adelaide River Town	133.0	on the 13th	97.5	on the 28th in 2007	10
Lakefield	90.0	on the 14th	88.0	on the 31st in 2005	10
Pine Creek Council	109.0	on the 22nd	93.2	on the 22nd in 2003	10

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Record highest total December rainfall
	Total rainfall (mm)	Previous highest		Years of record	Average
Adelaide River Post Office	582.0	460.6	in 1998	45	246.1
Darwin River Dam	662.3	621.0	in 1998	39	267.1
Channel Island	625.1	570.4	in 1996	33	261.0
Nightcliff Pool	544.0	533.0	in 1965	23	173.5
Berry Springs Rangers	621.8	552.6	in 1996	19	341.2

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Record highest December temperature
	Highest temperature (°C)		Previous highest		Years of record	Average
Jabiru Airport AWS	39.6	on the 5th	= 39.6	on the 1st in 2006	32	35.0
Mango Farm	40.5	on the 3rd	= 40.5	on the 3rd in 2006	29	34.8
Timber Creek	43.5	on the 7th	43.4	on the 27th in 1992	28	37.1
Katherine Aviation Museum	41.5	on the 9th	41.4	on the 1st in 2006	25	36.0
Lajamanu AWS	45.4	on the 8th	45.0	on the 5th in 2004	17	38.0
Bradshaw AWS	44.0	on the 5th	42.8	on the 3rd in 2006	11	36.4

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Record lowest December daily maximum temperature
	Lowest daily maximum temperature (°C)		Previous lowest		Years of record	Average
Douglas River	27.0	on the 13th	27.3	on the 23rd in 2003	19	35.0
Territory Grape Farm	19.1	on the 11th	24.0	on the 12th in 2000	17	36.3
Channel Point	25.5	on the 13th	= 25.5	on the 8th in 1998	15	32.3
Dum In Mirrie AWS	27.0	on the 13th	27.3	on the 31st in 2003	11	32.4
McCluer Island AWS	28.9	on the 11th	= 28.9	on the 20th in 2003	10	32.1

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Record highest December daily minimum temperature
	Highest daily minimum (°C)		Previous highest		Years of record	Average
Darwin Airport	29.7	on the 10th	= 29.7	on the 3rd in 2007	68	25.3
Black Point	30.2	on the 9th	29.8	on the 9th in 2002	17	26.2
Rabbit Flat	32.2	on the 9th	29.8	on the 31st in 2002	13	23.8
Bradshaw AWS	29.2	on the 10th	29.0	on the 11th in 2003	11	25.4
Dum In Mirrie AWS	30.0	on the 10th	= 30.0	on the 30th in 2002	11	26.1

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Record lowest December temperature
	Lowest temperature (°C)		Previous lowest		Years of record	Average
Gove Airport	19.6	on the 3rd	19.7	on the 26th in 1969	30	24.6
Timber Creek	17.8	on the 4th	= 17.8	on the 17th in 1981	28	25.4
Wollogorang	17.1	on the 3rd	17.6	on the 9th in 2002	24	24.2
Borroloola AWS	19.5	on the 3rd	20.2	on the 13th in 2002	15	25.4
Batchelor Aero AWS	19.9	on the 11th	20.7	on the 9th in 1998	13	24.1
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS	20.0	on the 4th	21.0	on the 1st in 2003	10	25.2

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Record highest December mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)	Previous highest		Years of record	Average
Tindal RAAF AWS	25.6	25.5	in 1986	21	24.8
Bradshaw AWS	26.4	26.2	in 2002	11	25.4

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for December 2009
	Maximum temperatures (°C)				Minimum temperatures (°C)				Rainfall (millimetres)
	Mean	Diff from average	Highest		Mean	Diff from average	Lowest		Total	Average	Rank	Fraction
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Aero AWS	33.6	-0.1	37.8	5th	24.1	0.0	19.9	11th	576.2	259.5	v high	222%
Black Point	32.7	+0.3	34.5	3rd	26.4	+0.2	23.5	11th	239.3	208.1	average	115%
Bradshaw AWS	37.8	+1.4	44.0	5th	26.4	+1.0	23.8	14th	216.6	166.2	high	130%
Cape Don AWS	32.7		35.8	6th	26.7		22.8	11th	320.0	261.7	high	122%
Central Arnhem Plateau AWS	34.2		38.9	7th	23.7		21.7	27th	276.0
Channel Point	32.3	0.0	34.7	4th	25.2	+0.2	23.2	12th	533.3	321.6	v high	166%
Darwin Airport	32.9	+0.3	35.7	7th	25.4	+0.1	23.0	11th	457.2	247.3	v high	183%
Delamere Weapons Range AWS	37.0	+1.4	42.2	5th	24.8	+0.3	21.3	4th	130.8	179.0	average	73%
Dum In Mirrie AWS	32.2	-0.2	34.3	8th	26.1	0.0	22.8	7th	419.0	278.2	high	151%
Jabiru Airport AWS	36.1	+1.1	39.6	5th	25.2	+0.4	22.9	29th	246.0	226.4	average	109%
Katherine Aviation Museum	36.4	+0.4	41.5	9th	24.8	+0.3	22.3	31st	291.2	217.0	average	134%
Mango Farm	35.1	+0.3	40.5	3rd	23.7	-0.1	20.8	7th	326.5	240.8	average	136%
Middle Point AWS	34.7		38.3	3rd	24.2		22.4	11th	361.8
Noonamah AWS	34.2		37.3	3rd	24.5		22.9	6th	520.6
Pine Creek Council	35.5		39.3	3rd	24.6		22.9	15th	322.5
Pirlangimpi AWS	32.9	+0.3	36.0	3rd	24.5	-0.2	22.8	29th	617.8	343.3	v high	180%
Point Fawcett AWS	32.2	-0.1	33.9	5th	25.5	-0.2	23.2	5th	319.6	308.7	average	104%
Tindal RAAF AWS	36.4	+0.9	41.0	9th	25.6	+0.8	22.7	14th	154.6	203.2	average	76%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Gove Airport	33.5	+0.6	36.1	2nd	24.4	-0.2	19.6	3rd	52.2	177.7	low	29%
Groote Eylandt Airport AWS	33.7	-0.6	37.8	3rd	24.2	-1.0	20.0	4th	274.4	180.5	v high	152%
Maningrida Aero AWS	33.4		36.3	3rd	25.5		23.6	4th	150.4
Ngayawili AWS	33.3	+0.6	36.3	3rd	25.2	-0.5	22.6	2nd	61.2	268.2	low	23%
Warruwi AWS	33.2	0.0	36.4	3rd	26.4	+0.2	23.3	11th	251.6	189.1	high	133%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola AWS	37.9	+1.5	40.7	2nd	25.2	-0.2	19.5	3rd	27.6	133.8	low	21%
Bulman AWS	37.2		40.5	9th	24.8		19.7	4th	190.4
Centre Island AWS	35.0	+0.4	37.7	3rd	27.4	0.0	23.8	27th	71.0	125.4	average	57%
Daly Waters AWS	38.0	+0.7	42.6	9th	23.9	-0.4	15.4	3rd	128.4	104.3	high	123%
Larrimah	37.3	+0.5	41.5	8th	24.1	-0.4	18.6	4th	247.4	135.7	v high	182%
McArthur River Mine	38.4	+0.7	41.9	6th	25.6	+0.7	19.8	3rd	57.4	120.9	low	47%
Wollogorang	37.8	+1.0	41.5	7th	24.4	+0.2	17.1	3rd	84.6	164.4	low	51%
Victoria (district 14F)
Kidman Springs	38.8	+1.4	43.5	7th	25.5	+0.2	20.6	4th	83.4	139.3	low	60%
Lajamanu AWS	38.6	+0.6	45.4	8th	23.7	-0.5	18.6	3rd	80.0	75.2	average	106%
Timber Creek	38.7	+1.6	43.5	7th	25.3	-0.1	17.8	4th	106.5	180.2	low	59%
Victoria River Downs	38.8	+1.0	43.4	8th	25.4	+0.3	21.5	4th	74.6	117.6	average	63%
Wave Hill	38.4	+0.2	44.6	7th	24.4	-0.1	18.4	4th	209.2	114.6	v high	183%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs	38.1	-0.4	42.5	7th	25.1	+0.8	20.4	2nd	133.8	66.6	high	201%
Elliott	38.5	-0.2	43.5	9th	24.4	0.0	17.7	3rd	189.6	93.5	v high	203%
Tennant Creek Airport	36.2	-1.1	43.0	8th	24.7	-0.2	21.5	3rd	59.0	67.6	average	87%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	35.6	+0.2	43.2	8th	20.2	0.0	13.8	2nd	11.2	37.5	low	30%
Curtin Springs	36.7	+0.4	44.0	7th	21.2	+0.7	15.5	25th	14.5	30.1	average	48%
Jervois	36.7	-1.1	45.8	9th	22.0	+0.7	15.4	13th	24.0	38.8	average	62%
Kulgera	34.7	-0.3	42.3	7th	20.0	-0.5	12.1	12th	36.6	34.5	average	106%
Papunya			43.0	8th	21.3		15.8	12th	5.2	33.0	v low	16%
Rabbit Flat	38.1	-0.4	46.0	8th	22.7	-1.1	15.4	5th	79.4	79.5	average	100%
Territory Grape Farm AWS	36.1	-0.2	43.5	8th	21.1	+0.1	14.0	2nd	28.0	45.8	average	61%
Watarrka	36.2	0.0	43.0	7th	22.5	+0.5	15.2	26th	25.9	37.2	average	70%
Yuendumu	36.6	+0.5	43.0	8th	21.7	+0.2	15.5	3rd	19.5	46.5	average	42%
Yulara Aero AWS	36.5	+0.2	43.8	7th	21.6	+0.9	16.1	25th	39.8	43.7	average	91%

Details Extremes Records Summaries Important notes the top

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