Tuesday, 1 April 2014 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC22R0

Northern Territory in March 2014: A taste of the dry season in the north

March 2014 saw no monsoon activity in a month that is usually fairly wet across the tropical north. As a result rainfall totals were among the lowest on record for most Top End locations. A lack of cloud cover allowed daytime temperatures to rise, while dry air allowed overnight temperatures to lower.

• Tropical cyclone Gillian moves across the water to the north, but did not affect the NT coastline
• Darwin Airport had its second driest March on record

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Tropical cyclone Gillian

Tropical cyclone Gillian began as a tropical low over the Arafura Sea on 6 March in the southeastern Arafura Sea, about 330 km northeast of Gove. It remained slow-moving until overnight on 7 March, when it began moving towards far north Queensland, while developing. On 8 March it first reached tropical cyclone strength and was named tropical cyclone Gillian as it continued to track towards the Gulf of Carpentaria and into a favorable atmosphere. Whilst in the Gulf of Carpentaria, it weakened and was downgraded to below tropical cyclone intensity just before it crossed the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula during 10 March. On 11 March the system remained near-stationary for 24 hours before moving southwards over land until the morning of 12 March and then westwards and back over water on 13 March. The system then took a northeasterly path and re-intensified to a category 1 cyclone on 14 March. Gillian then tracked northwards over the central Gulf of Carpentaria with no immediate threat to the Gulf coast, however, again the system encountered unfavorable atmospheric conditions and was downgraded once more to below tropical cyclone intensity on 15 March. Ex-tropical cyclone Gillian then moved steadily northwest across the Arafura Sea until colliding with Timor on 18 March. Just below tropical cyclone strength, the tropical low crossed East Timor on the 18th and followed along the southern Flores Sea and the Lesser Sunda Islands on 19 to 20 March. The low shifted south over Bali on 20 March but continued to track west over the Indian Ocean. On 21 March, the low intensified again to a category 1 system and was again at tropical cyclone status. Shortly after passing near Christmas Island on 22 March, tropical cyclone Gillian turned south and strengthened further. The storm reached a maximum strength on 24 March with mean winds of about 198 km/h (category 5) while over the Indian Ocean. Tropical cyclone Gillian then weakened and dissipated on 26 March while moving west away from Australia.

Very dry March for the NT

The Northern Territory as a whole saw the driest March since 2009 with only 54.3 % of normal March rainfall. Many locations in the Alice Springs District did not measure any rainfall this month. Several sites, including Adelaide River, Palmerston (Yarrawonga) and Yulara had their lowest total March rainfall on record. Darwin Airport, with only 92.2 mm, had its driest March in 36 years and the second driest March on record. Alice Springs Airport received only 1.4 mm of rainfall, compared to the long-term average is 31.8 mm.

Not everywhere was dry. Several coastal locations had a few large rainfall events in the month. The wettest single day was at Cape Wessel with 206.0 mm on the 8th as pre-tropical cyclone Gillian moved toward the Gulf of Carpentaria. Cape Wessel ended the month with 365.6 mm, making it the wettest location in the NT for March 2014 and the only station in the Arnhem region to see above average rainfall. A few showers and storms moved across the Victoria River and the Barkly Districts within the first few days of the month such that some places, including Bradshaw Homestead, Kidman Springs and Brunette Downs ended the month near, or slightly above average for March.

Average to above average maxima for the NT

Most of the Northern Territory experienced close to average daytime temperatures for March. The mean daily maximum temperature for the Territory was 34.7 °C, 0.9 °C above average. Elliot was the only location to have a cooler than normal month with a mean daily maximum temperature of 34.7 °C, 1 °C below average. The Alice Springs District had several hot days near the middle of the month (the hottest day in the NT was at Alice Springs Airport with 40.9 °C on the 15th) but the beginning and end of the month were near normal across the south of the NT.

Temperatures across the Top End of the NT were generally warmer than normal. This was due to a lack of persistent cloud cover and rainfall in what is usually a rainy month. The warmest days on average were at Bradshaw with 37.3 °C and there were several high temperature records set along the north coast. Channel Point, Point Fawcett and Dum-In-Mirrie were among the sites to see their highest March temperature on record while Mango Farm and Middle Point had their highest March mean daily maximum temperature on record.

Minimum temperature

The Territory as a whole had a mean daily minimum temperature of 21.4 °C, 0.3 °C below average. Portions of the Victoria River District and the northern Alice Springs District saw mean daily minimum temperers that were slightly lower than normal while along the southern border minimum temperatures were, generally, warmer than normal.

A few days with low humidity allowed the overnight temperatures across the tropical north to be the lowest on record on the 27th and 28th. Many locations experienced minimum temperatures similar to the dry season, these include: Daly Waters with 11.4 °C on the 27th, Tindal RAAF with 14.5 °C on the 27th, Batchelor with 15.5 °C on the 28th and Jabiru with 19.5 °C on the 27th.

Darwin and surrounding region

March 2014 was a dry month for most of the Darwin region. Darwin Airport ended the month with only 92.2 mm for the month—this is the second lowest March rainfall on record with the lowest being 88.0 mm in March 1978. The Chase, in Palmerston, also had the second–driest March on record with only 68.2 mm. Further inland, Middle Point ended the month with only 94.6 mm–also ranking it as the second driest March on record with the record of 69.8 mm occurring in 2010. Leanyer set a new record for the driest March on record with 83.4 mm (previous record was 99.6 mm in March 2003) as did Channel Point with 82.7 mm (previous record was 108.8 in March 2009).

Both maximum and minimum temperatures were near average for most of the Darwin Region. A lack of cloud cover in a typically rainy month caused monthly maximum temperatures to be generally higher than normal, while dry air allowed overnight minimums to drop to near or a slightly below normal. Darwin Airport hada mean daily maximum temperature of 33.0 °C, 1.1 °C above average. The mean daily minimum temperature at Darwin Airport was 24.7 °C, 0.2 °C above average.

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Extremes in March 2014
Hottest day	40.9 °C at Alice Springs Airport on the 15th
Warmest days on average	37.3 °C at Bradshaw
Coolest days on average	31.5 °C at Gove Airport
Coldest day	25.9 °C at Arltunga on the 25th
Coldest night	7.3 °C at Arltunga on the 27th
Coolest nights on average	17.5 °C at Alice Springs Airport
Warmest nights on average	26.8 °C at Cape Don
Warmest night	28.8 °C at Dum In Mirrie Airstrip on the 22nd
Warmest on average overall	30.4 °C at Bradshaw
Coolest on average overall	25.5 °C at Arltunga
Wettest overall	365.6 mm at Cape Wessel
Wettest day	206.0 mm at Cape Wessel on the 8th
Highest wind gust	76 km/h at Walungurru Airport on the 18th

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

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Record highest March daily rainfall
	Highest daily rainfall in March 2014 (mm)		Previous wettest for March		Years of record
Gorrie	150.0	on the 3rd	114.8	on the 23rd in 2001	29
Cape Wessel	206.0	on the 8th	120.0	on the 11th in 1997	22

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Highest total March rainfall for at least 10 years
	Total rainfall for March 2014 (mm)	Most recent March at least this wet		Years since wetter	Average for March
Cape Wessel	365.6	459.4	in 1995*	15	209.0
Port Keats Airport	304.2	413.2	in 2004	10	205.6

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported.

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Record lowest total March rainfall
	Total rainfall for March 2014 (mm)	Previous driest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Curtin Springs	0.0	= 0.0	in 2005	61	28.7
Adelaide River Post Office	20.0	58.0	in 1987	51	261.1
Darwin River Dam	49.0	86.8	in 2010	44	291.3
Kulgera	0.0	= 0.0	in 2005	42	30.7
Palmerston (Yarrawonga)	75.0	85.5	in 1987	26	308.4
The Granites	0.0	= 0.0	in 1994	25	48.1
Channel Point	82.7	108.8	in 2009	24	353.1
Leanyer	83.4	99.6	in 2003	24	340.7
Yulara Airport	0.0	= 0.0	in 2002	24	36.8
Walker Creek	78.5	87.9	in 2010	18	331.8
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	117.2	166.4	in 2002	17	323.5
Ngayawili	46.6	82.0	in 2002	15	284.0
Nitmiluk Rangers	19.2	44.9	in 2009	15	204.0
Nitmiluk Ridge	30.6	38.8	in 2010	12	182.8
Yeuralba Ridge	32.8	46.4	in 2009	12	201.3
Central Arnhem Plateau	5.4	26.0	in 2009	11	270.7
Edith Farms Road	22.8	35.2	in 2009	11	247.2
Snowdrop Creek	42.0	43.0	in 2009	11	222.8
Majestic Orchids	68.0	71.4	in 2009	10	320.3
Maningrida Airport	111.8	138.2	in 2009	10	326.5

Lowest total March rainfall for at least 10 years
	Total rainfall for March 2014 (mm)	Most recent March at least this dry		Years since drier	Average for March
Darwin Botanic Gardens	83.4	73.0	in 1887*	57	313.6
Darwin Airport	92.2	88.0	in 1978	36	319.0
Lambell's Lagoon	81.8	44.6	in 1987	27	270.5
McMinns Lagoon	102.6	93.0	in 1992*	21	339.7
Wagait Beach	108.1	98.8	in 1992*	20	353.1
Nightcliff Pool	81.8	77.6	in 1978*	19	261.9
Stokes Hill	88.0	5.2	in 1978*	17	303.4
Elizabeth Downs	79.9	73.0	in 1992*	15	260.7
Shoal Bay	91.8	78.2	in 1993*	15	310.9
Upper Waterhouse River	26.8	9.0	in 1999*	13	223.7
Rabbit Flat	9.8	0.4	in 2002	12	75.4
Groote Eylandt Airport	162.2	125.0	in 2003	11	333.1
Pirlangimpi Airport	236.0	99.0	in 2002*	11	359.0
Adelaide River Town	34.5	27.5	in 2004	10	223.5
CSIRO Berrimah	127.4	116.8	in 2003*	10	327.7
The Chase	68.2	0.6	in 2004	10	287.8
Walungurru Airport	2.6	0.4	in 2003*	10	53.4

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported.

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Record highest March temperature
	Highest temperature in March 2014 (°C)		Previous warmest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Channel Point	35.0	on the 17th	= 35.0	on the 21st in 2010	20	31.8
Point Fawcett	33.7	on the 27th	= 33.7	on the 23rd in 2010	17	31.6
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	35.0	on the 19th	= 35.0	on the 18th in 2010	16	31.6
Central Arnhem Plateau	36.6	on the 31st	35.9	on the 11th in 2005	11	31.6

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Record highest March mean daily maximum temperature
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2014 (°C)	Previous warmest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Mango Farm	35.6	35.5	in 2010	33	33.9
Middle Point	34.9	34.8	in 2010	12	33.3
Central Arnhem Plateau	34.2	34.1	in 2009	10	31.6

Highest March mean daily maximum temperature for at least 10 years
	Mean daily maximum temperature for March 2014 (°C)	Most recent March at least this warm		Years since warmer	Average for March
Tindal RAAF	35.8	36.2	in 1988*	23	34.0
Batchelor Airport	34.4	34.6	in 2002	12	32.8
Douglas River	35.2	35.6	in 2002	12	33.7

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported.

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Record lowest March temperature
	Lowest temperature in March 2014 (°C)		Previous coolest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Daly Waters Airstrip	11.4	on the 27th	13.4	on the 31st in 2008	45	22.5
Jabiru Airport	19.5	on the 27th	20.4	on the 8th in 1981	39	24.4
Mango Farm	14.5	on the 28th	17.2	on the 31st in 2002	34	23.6
Tindal RAAF	14.5	on the 27th	15.5	on the 31st in 2002	27	23.1
Lajamanu Airport	12.9	on the 28th	13.9	on the 23rd in 1970	22	22.0
Channel Point	18.4	on the 28th	20.9	on the 31st in 2002	20	24.5
Rabbit Flat	12.3	on the 27th	12.4	on the 26th in 2012	18	21.7
Batchelor Airport	15.5	on the 28th	16.0	on the 19th in 2009	17	23.4
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	20.0	on the 28th	20.8	on the 18th in 2009	16	25.1
Bradshaw	17.2	on the 28th	18.0	on the 26th in 2003	14	24.1
Middle Point	16.4	on the 28th	18.9	on the 19th in 2009	13	23.9
Central Arnhem Plateau	16.8	on the 27th	19.4	on the 19th in 2009	11	22.9

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Record highest March mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for March 2014 (°C)	Previous warmest for March		Years of record	Average for March
McCluer Island	26.6	= 26.6	in 2004	15	25.8

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Record lowest March mean daily minimum temperature
	Mean daily minimum temperature for March 2014 (°C)	Previous coolest for March		Years of record	Average for March
Middle Point	23.2	= 23.2	in 2009	12	23.9
Central Arnhem Plateau	22.4	= 22.4	in 2012	10	22.9

Lowest March mean daily minimum temperature for at least 10 years
	Mean daily minimum temperature for March 2014 (°C)	Most recent March at least this cool		Years since cooler	Average for March
Rabbit Flat	19.9	19.1	in 2003	11	21.7

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Summary statistics for March 2014
	Maximum temperatures for March (°C)				Minimum temperatures for March (°C)				Rainfall for March (millimetres)
	Mean for March 2014	Diff from average	Highest for March 2014		Mean for March 2014	Diff from average	Lowest for March 2014		Total for March 2014	Average for March	Rank of March 2014	Fraction of March average
Darwin-Daly (district 14GA)
Batchelor Airport	34.4	+1.6	36.0	22nd	22.7	-0.7	15.5	28th	96.8	250.8	average	39%
Black Point	32.1	+0.7	34.0	31st	25.5	0.0	22.9	28th	75.2	244.2	low	31%
Bradshaw	37.3	+2.2	39.8	21st	23.5	-0.6	17.2	28th	150.6	133.1	average	113%
Cape Don	33.6		35.8	22nd	26.8		24.1	7th	69.8	237.9	low	29%
Central Arnhem Plateau	34.2	+2.6	36.6	31st	22.4	-0.5	16.8	27th	5.4	270.7	lowest	2%
Channel Point	32.7	+0.9	35.0	17th	24.5	0.0	18.4	28th	82.7	353.1	lowest	23%
Croker Island Airport	32.1		33.5	23rd	25.4		22.1	10th	89.2
Darwin Airport	33.0	+1.1	35.8	31st	24.7	+0.2	21.5	28th	92.2	319.0	v low	29%
Darwin NTC AWS	32.4		34.8	31st	26.2		22.3	11th
Douglas River	35.2	+1.5	36.7	22nd	22.3	-0.8	12.9	28th	87.4	232.9	low	38%
Dum In Mirrie Airstrip	32.7	+1.1	35.0	19th	24.9	-0.2	20.0	28th	117.2	323.5	lowest	36%
Gunn Point	32.6		35.2	31st	23.1		16.9	28th	105.6
Jabiru Airport	35.2	+1.7	37.2	31st	24.3	-0.1	19.5	27th	189.8	320.3	low	59%
Katherine Country Club	36.0		38.2	30th	22.4		14.9	28th	111.4
Mango Farm	35.6	+1.7	38.3	20th	22.9	-0.7	14.5	28th	127.6	219.2	average	58%
McCluer Island	31.7	+0.8	33.3	22nd	26.6	+0.8	22.8	8th	145.6	231.9	average	63%
Middle Point	34.9	+1.6	36.7	22nd	23.2	-0.7	16.4	28th	94.6	257.7	v low	37%
Murganella Airstrip	33.1		35.2	22nd	23.3		20.2	28th	223.6
Noonamah Airstrip	34.6		36.6	21st	23.8		18.0	28th	151.8
Oenpelli Airport	34.4		36.9	31st	24.6		21.1	27th	130.8
Pirlangimpi Airport	33.3	+1.4	35.1	27th	24.0	-0.1	21.7	28th	236.0	359.0	low	66%
Point Fawcett	32.3	+0.7	33.7	27th	24.2	-0.7	20.5	28th
Point Stuart	32.2		33.7	31st	24.8		20.7	27th	138.6	225.6	low	61%
Port Keats Airport	34.0	+0.8	36.9	18th	23.5	-0.5	18.2	28th	304.2	205.6	high	148%
Tindal RAAF	35.8	+1.8	37.7	21st	22.4	-0.7	14.5	27th	46.4	168.8	low	27%
Arnhem (district 14BC)
Cape Wessel	31.8		33.6	4th	25.8		22.4	9th	365.6	209.0	high	175%
Gove Airport	31.5	+0.3	33.4	13th	23.9	0.0	21.3	20th	231.8	277.6	average	84%
Maningrida Airport	32.6	+0.8	34.9	9th	24.3	-0.2	21.6	27th	111.8	326.5	lowest	34%
Milingimbi Airport	33.0	+1.0	34.3	31st	24.5	-0.2	22.1	13th	152.4	273.7	low	56%
Ngayawili	32.0	+0.5	34.3	30th	24.7	-0.1	22.3	27th	46.6	284.0	lowest	16%
North East Island	32.6		34.6	30th	26.5		23.8	13th	102.8	204.7	average	50%
Warruwi Airport	32.3	+0.9	34.2	21st	25.5	+0.3	23.4	8th	117.0	237.8	low	49%
Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE)
Borroloola Airport	34.2	+0.8	36.8	31st	22.9	-0.4	16.4	27th	49.6	173.6	average	29%
Bulman	34.9		36.8	21st	22.9		15.9	27th	94.0	271.6	low	35%
Centre Island	33.2	+0.4	35.1	26th	26.6	+0.3	24.3	2nd	74.8	264.2	low	28%
Daly Waters Airstrip	34.5	-0.1	37.0	30th	21.1	-1.4	11.4	27th	115.2	115.6	average	100%
McArthur River Mine Airport	35.8	+0.9	38.1	21st	23.7	+0.3	17.6	27th	115.2	148.2	average	78%
Ngukurr Airport	34.6		37.1	21st	23.6		15.6	27th	176.0
Wollogorang	33.9	-0.5	37.0	31st	23.1	+0.4	20.0	27th	116.7	162.3	average	72%
Victoria (district 14F)
Lajamanu Airport	35.9	+1.4	38.5	20th	21.0	-1.0	12.9	28th	18.8	83.3	average	23%
Timber Creek	36.5	+1.1	38.5	21st	22.6	-1.0	16.0	28th	81.6	159.9	low	51%
Victoria River Downs	35.7	+0.6	38.0	22nd	22.2	-1.0	13.7	28th	64.8	109.5	average	59%
Wave Hill	35.4	+0.1	38.1	30th	21.3	-0.9	13.0	27th	64.6	122.6	average	53%
Barkly (district 15A)
Brunette Downs			38.0	31st	21.9	-0.4	16.0	28th	68.4	56.3	average	121%
Elliott	34.7	-1.0	37.3	20th	22.5	+0.3	15.1	27th	42.0	85.9	average	49%
Tennant Creek Airport	34.3	0.0	37.0	18th	22.9	-0.3	17.3	28th	0.2	56.1	v low	0%
Alice Springs (district 15B)
Alice Springs Airport	34.6	+2.0	40.9	15th	17.5	0.0	9.7	27th	1.4	31.8	average	4%
Arltunga	33.0	+1.4	38.7	15th	18.0	-0.6	7.3	27th	9.0	39.5	average	23%
Curtin Springs	35.8	+2.1	39.7	14th	20.0	+1.6	11.0	27th	0	28.7	lowest	0%
Jervois	35.5	+0.9	40.3	15th	20.7	+1.4	12.7	27th	4.6	32.3	average	14%
Kulgera	34.1	+2.0	38.4	14th	19.1	+1.0	10.6	26th	0	30.7	lowest	0%
Rabbit Flat	36.8	+0.8	39.9	16th	19.9	-1.8	12.3	27th	9.8	75.4	low	13%
Territory Grape Farm	35.1	+1.0	38.9	16th	18.9	-0.7	12.0	27th	1.0	21.1	average	5%
Walungurru Airport	36.7	+0.8	40.5	15th	23.7	-0.3	17.3	29th	2.6	53.4	low	5%
Yuendumu	34.4	+1.0	39.2	16th			12.9	27th	21.6	44.5	average	49%
Yulara Airport	35.9	+1.7	40.1	15th	19.7	+0.6	11.5	27th	0	36.8	lowest	0%

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

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Further information

Bureau of Meteorology
Phone (03) 9669 4057
Email media@bom.gov.au

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