Thursday, 1 October 2020 - Monthly Climate Summary for Northern Territory - Product code IDCKGC12R0
Northern Territory in September 2020: record heat and average rainfall
September was notable for the very warm days and nights observed across all of the Northern Territory. Territory-wide, the mean night-time temperature was the highest on record, while the mean daytime temperature was the second-highest ever recorded for September. Rainfall across the NT was very near to the long-term average for the month.
Days and nights more than 3 °C above average
- Daytime and night-time temperatures were well above average across the Northern Territory in September; most of the NT saw daytime and overnight temperatures in the highest 10% of their long-term record.
- Averaged across the NT, the mean daily minimum temperature was 3.32 °C above the long-term average and the highest since records began in 1910.
- The mean daily maximum temperature was the second-highest on record at 3.22 °C above average, only exceeded by the 2013 September record (3.96 °C above average).
- The mean temperature was also second-highest on record at 3.27 °C above average (3.52 °C above average in 2013).
- Temperature records at multiple sites were established for highest September temperature on record, highest September mean daily maximum temperature on record and warmest September night (highest daily minimum temperature) on record
- Several other sites had either their highest September mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years or highest September mean temperature for at least 20 years.
- For the year to date, Territory-wide temperatures are well above average: to the end of September, the mean maximum was 1.50 °C above average and fourth-highest on record; the mean minimum was 1.19 °C above average (seventh-highest on record), while the mean temperature was 1.35 °C above the long-term average and fifth-highest on record.
Above average rain across much of the northern NT
- For the first September since 2016, NT rainfall was above average in 2020; Territory-wide, rainfall was 16% above the long-term average.
- Above average rainfall was mostly confined to the northern two-thirds of the Territory, with only small rainfall totals observed across most of the south.
- Parts of the northwestern Top End had totals in excess of 50 mm during the month, with many locations recording rainfall totals in the highest 10% of all historical observations.
- Many sites in the northern NT had either their highest September daily rainfall on record, their highest total September rainfall on record or their highest total September rainfall for at least 20 years.
- For the year to date, Territory-wide rainfall was 11% below the long-term average.
Darwin Airport
- Total rainfall for Darwin Airport was 86.8 mm, which is 526% of the long-term average of 16.5 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Darwin Airport was 33.9 °C, which is 1.3 °C above the long-term average of 32.6 °C
- The warmest day was 37.0 °C on the 8th, and the coolest day was on the 20th when the temperature reached 31.9 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Darwin Airport was 23.7 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the long-term average of 23.0 °C
- The coldest morning was 21.1 °C on the 13th, and the warmest morning was on the 24th when the minimum temperature was 25.5 °C.
- Darwin Airport did not have any minimum temperatures below 20 °C in September; in an average year, there are between 1 and 2 nights this cool.
Alice Springs Airport
- Total rainfall for Alice Springs Airport was 0.2 mm, which is 2% of the long-term average of 8.6 mm.
- The mean daily maximum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 31.7 °C, which is 4.3 °C above the long-term average of 27.4 °C. The warmest day was 35.9 °C on the 20th, and the coolest day was on the 26th when the temperature reached 26.4 °C.
- The mean daily minimum temperature for Alice Springs Airport was 13.8 °C, which is 3.5 °C below the long-term average of 10.3 °C. The coldest morning was 6.7 °C on the 1st, and the warmest morning was on the 17th, when the minimum temperature was 24.3 °C.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Extremes in September 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Hottest day | 40.8 °C at Victoria River Downs on the 20th |
| Warmest days on average |
38.4 °C at Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) 38.4 °C at Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence) |
| Coolest days on average | 29.0 °C at McCluer Island |
| Coldest day | 25.0 °C at Arltunga on the 26th |
| Coldest night | 5.0 °C at Arltunga on the 2nd |
| Coolest nights on average | 13.2 °C at Arltunga |
| Warmest nights on average | 25.7 °C at McCluer Island |
| Warmest night | 28.4 °C at Wave Hill on the 21st |
| Warmest on average overall | 31.4 °C at Bradshaw |
| Coolest on average overall | 21.8 °C at Arltunga |
| Wettest overall | 118.2 mm at Charles Darwin University |
| Wettest day | 77.6 mm at Dum In Mirrie Airstrip on the 25th |
| Strongest wind gust | 83 km/h at Walungurru Airport on the 17th |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Maps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Observed | Anomaly | Decile rank | |
| Total rainfall |
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| Mean daily maximum temperatures |
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| Mean daily minimum temperatures |
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Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window
| Record highest September daily rainfall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
||||
| Darwin River Dam | 58.0 | on the 26th | 45.4 | on the 29th in 1981 | 50 | |
| Timber Creek | 31.0 | on the 23rd | 29.4 | on the 28th in 1981 | 40 | |
| Keep River Rangers | 18.0 | on the 25th | 12.0 | on the 30th in 1988 | 36 | |
| Mount Sanford | 29.0 | on the 27th | 23.0 | on the 19th in 2016 | 32 | |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 77.6 | on the 25th | 40.0 | on the 16th in 2002 | 23 | |
| Killarney | 12.5 | on the 22nd | 9.3 | on the 24th in 1998 | 22 | |
| Record highest September total rainfall | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (mm) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for September |
||
| Timber Creek | 34.7 | 32.4 | in 1981 | 40 | 6.0 |
| Keep River Rangers | 25.0 | 13.8 | in 1988 | 36 | 2.4 |
| Mount Sanford | 41.0 | 32.1 | in 2016 | 32 | 4.2 |
| Karama | 69.0 | 59.0 | in 2009 | 31 | 11.5 |
| Darwin Hospital | 97.6 | 78.2 | in 2015 | 25 | 16.8 |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 108.4 | 65.0 | in 2010 | 23 | 17.1 |
| Killarney | 22.5 | 9.3 | in 1998 | 22 | 2.3 |
| Port Keats Airport | 49.4 | 43.6 | in 2018 | 22 | 6.9 |
| Bradshaw | 12.0 | 11.0 | in 2001 | 21 | 2.3 |
| Middle Point | 48.6 | 42.0 | in 2002 | 20 | 16.9 |
| Highest September total rainfall for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (mm) |
Most recent higher |
Average for September |
|||
| Darwin Airport | 86.8 | 129.8 | in 1981 | 16.5 | |
| Darwin River Dam | 76.6 | 107.2 | in 1981 | 16.7 | |
| Tipperary | 39.0 | 44.5 | in 1943* | 6.3 | |
| Brunette Downs | 18.6 | 19.4 | in 1992 | 5.8 | |
| Nightcliff Pool | 75.7 | 84.2 | in 1981* | 18.7 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
| Record highest September temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for September |
|||
| Victoria River Downs | 40.8 | on the 20th | 40.7 | on the 28th in 2016 | 55 | 35.7 |
| Point Fawcett | 36.0 | on the 8th | 35.5 | on the 16th in 2017 | 23 | 32.2 |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 37.5 | on the 8th | 37.0 | on the 26th in 2001 | 21 | 31.8 |
| Record highest September mean daily maximum temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for September |
||
| Jabiru Airport | 37.6 | 37.4 | in 2017 | 42 | 36.3 |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 37.1 | 37.0 | in 2017 | 41 | 35.4 |
| Tindal RAAF | 37.5 | 37.3 | in 2012 | 32 | 35.9 |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 36.8 | 36.7 | in 2009 | 23 | 35.7 |
| Point Fawcett | 33.6 | = 33.6 | in 2017 | 22 | 32.2 |
| Groote Eylandt Airport | 33.3 | = 33.3 | in 2009 | 21 | 32.5 |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 33.6 | 33.0 | in 2017 | 20 | 31.8 |
| Record highest September daily minimum temperature | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for September |
|||
| Brunette Downs | 25.9 | on the 20th | 25.8 | on the 28th in 1997 | 53 | 16.7 |
| Wave Hill | 28.4 | on the 21st | = 28.4 | on the 29th in 1992 | 47 | 17.9 |
| Elliott | 27.4 | on the 21st | 27.3 | on the 20th in 1986 | 39 | 17.4 |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 27.3 | on the 20th | 27.1 | on the 22nd in 2013 | 24 | 20.6 |
| Rabbit Flat | 25.9 | on the 29th | 25.3 | on the 28th in 2005 | 24 | 14.1 |
| Middle Point | 25.5 | on the 21st | 25.1 | on the 18th in 2016 | 20 | 18.9 |
| Highest September mean daily minimum temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent higher |
Average for September |
|||
| Tennant Creek Airport | 21.2 | 21.4 | in 1997 | 18.4 | |
| Yulara Airport | 13.3 | =13.3 | in 1998 | 10.7 | |
| Record highest September mean temperature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New record (°C) |
Old record |
Years of record |
Average for September |
||
| Yulara Airport | 22.7 | 22.5 | in 2013 | 32 | 19.7 |
| Bradshaw | 31.4 | = 31.4 | in 2010 | 21 | 29.7 |
| Highest September mean temperature for at least 20 years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Observed (°C) |
Most recent higher |
Average for September |
|||
| Wave Hill | 29.3 | 29.8 | in 1992 | 26.5 | |
| Elliott | 28.6 | 28.8 | in 1997* | 26.4 | |
* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a higher value has gone unreported
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
| Summary statistics for September 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum temperatures (°C) |
Minimum temperatures (°C) |
Rainfall (millimetres) |
||||||||||
| Mean for September 2020 |
Diff from average |
Highest for September 2020 |
Mean for September 2020 |
Diff from average |
Lowest for September 2020 |
Total for September 2020 |
Average for September |
Rank of September 2020 |
Fraction of September average |
|||
| Darwin-Daly (district 14GA) | ||||||||||||
| Batchelor Airport | 36.7 | +0.7 | 38.3 | 6th | 21.6 | +1.1 | 18.0 | 7th | 6.0 | 7.7 | average | 78% |
| Central Arnhem Plateau | 34.9 | +1.1 | 37.4 | 21st | 20.9 | +1.9 | 16.4 | 12th | 4.8 | 5.0 | high | 96% |
| Channel Point | 31.7 | +0.6 | 35.5 | 7th | 20.0 | 7th | 45.3 | 11.3 | v high | 401% | ||
| Charles Point | 30.8 | 35.1 | 8th | 24.3 | 22.0 | 13th | 48.8 | |||||
| Croker Island Airport | 32.6 | 34.0 | 26th | 24.3 | 22.8 | 5th | 0 | |||||
| Darwin Airport | 33.9 | +1.3 | 37.0 | 8th | 23.7 | +0.7 | 21.1 | 13th | 86.8 | 16.5 | v high | 526% |
| Delamere Weapons Range | 36.8 | +1.1 | 38.9 | 22nd | 22.7 | +2.1 | 18.4 | 12th | 1.2 | 3.4 | average | 35% |
| Douglas River Research Farm | 38.1 | +1.3 | 39.9 | 28th | 21.1 | +2.6 | 16.7 | 8th | 15.6 | 5.3 | v high | 294% |
| Dum In Mirrie Airstrip | 33.6 | +1.8 | 37.5 | 8th | 23.0 | +0.1 | 20.4 | 13th | 108.4 | 17.1 | highest | 634% |
| Jabiru Airport | 37.6 | +1.3 | 39.4 | 22nd | 23.0 | +1.4 | 20.1 | 13th | 10.4 | 11.7 | high | 89% |
| Kangaroo Flats (Defence) | 37.3 | 39.0 | 6th | 23.1 | 19.8 | 13th | 17.0 | |||||
| McCluer Island | 29.0 | -0.1 | 31.0 | 25th | 25.7 | +1.0 | 24.7 | 5th | 0 | 1.3 | lowest | 0% |
| Middle Point | 36.9 | +0.4 | 38.5 | 6th | 20.8 | +1.9 | 15.9 | 13th | 48.6 | 16.9 | highest | 288% |
| Mount Bundey North (Defence) | 37.3 | 38.7 | 5th | 23.5 | 21.5 | 6th | 40.6 | |||||
| Mount Bundey South (Defence) | 37.4 | 39.4 | 22nd | 22.8 | 19.5 | 7th | 34.8 | |||||
| Murganella Airstrip | 33.2 | 36.5 | 25th | 21.6 | 18.3 | 7th | 7.4 | |||||
| Noonamah Airstrip | 36.4 | 38.4 | 5th | 23.1 | 18.9 | 13th | 59.0 | |||||
| Oenpelli Airport | 37.6 | 39.2 | 27th | 21.4 | 15.4 | 7th | 0.4 | |||||
| Pirlangimpi Airport | 34.2 | +0.8 | 36.2 | 23rd | 22.6 | +1.3 | 19.5 | 13th | 35.2 | 27.2 | high | 129% |
| Point Fawcett | 33.6 | +1.4 | 36.0 | 8th | 21.6 | +0.6 | 17.0 | 13th | 8.4 | 8.8 | high | 95% |
| Point Stuart | 34.2 | 36.2 | 9th | 22.3 | 19.3 | 7th | 38.0 | 11.1 | v high | 342% | ||
| Port Keats Airport | 33.7 | +0.1 | 35.7 | 7th | 22.8 | +2.0 | 19.8 | 8th | 49.4 | 6.9 | highest | 716% |
| Tindal RAAF | 37.5 | +1.6 | 39.3 | 29th | 21.4 | +1.6 | 15.7 | 12th | 5.6 | 8.3 | high | 67% |
| Arnhem (district 14BC) | ||||||||||||
| Cape Wessel | 31.9 | 33.4 | 24th | 24.7 | 23.2 | 3rd | 5.2 | 6.3 | high | 83% | ||
| Gove Airport | 31.2 | +0.8 | 32.9 | 25th | 21.6 | +1.9 | 18.1 | 12th | 7.8 | 6.5 | high | 120% |
| Groote Eylandt Airport | 33.3 | +0.8 | 36.0 | 28th | 18.6 | +0.8 | 14.8 | 12th | 0 | 7.2 | lowest | 0% |
| Maningrida Airport | 32.9 | +0.6 | 34.6 | 25th | 21.4 | +1.1 | 18.3 | 5th | 0 | 6.2 | v low | 0% |
| Milingimbi Airport | 32.8 | +0.9 | 33.9 | 26th | 22.6 | +1.3 | 19.6 | 10th | 0 | 3.7 | v low | 0% |
| Warruwi Airport | 31.4 | +0.5 | 35.0 | 25th | 24.9 | +1.3 | 23.2 | 5th | 1.8 | 1.4 | high | 129% |
| Roper-Mcarthur (district 14DE) | ||||||||||||
| Borroloola Airport | 36.0 | +0.9 | 38.7 | 27th | 18.9 | +1.4 | 16.0 | 11th | 7.2 | 3.4 | high | 212% |
| Bulman | 37.1 | +0.8 | 39.3 | 22nd | 20.4 | +2.5 | 16.2 | 12th | 0 | 14.9 | v low | 0% |
| Centre Island | 31.7 | +1.1 | 34.1 | 23rd | 23.6 | +1.4 | 21.3 | 2nd | 0.4 | 1.8 | average | 22% |
| Daly Waters Airstrip | 36.9 | +2.0 | 38.9 | 21st | 18.7 | +2.0 | 14.2 | 12th | 2.6 | 1.9 | high | 137% |
| McArthur River Mine Airport | 37.1 | +1.7 | 39.8 | 27th | 19.3 | +2.0 | 15.9 | 5th | 0 | 4.7 | lowest | 0% |
| Ngukurr Airport | 36.8 | 40.1 | 21st | 20.8 | 17.4 | 12th | 0 | |||||
| Victoria (district 14F) | ||||||||||||
| Bradshaw | 38.3 | +0.8 | 40.4 | 20th | 24.5 | +2.6 | 21.5 | 9th | 12.0 | 2.3 | highest | 522% |
| Bradshaw - Angallari Valley (Defence) | 38.4 | 40.6 | 28th | 24.0 | 21.2 | 12th | 5.0 | |||||
| Bradshaw - Koolendong Valley (Defence) | 38.4 | 40.5 | 28th | 20.6 | 14.2 | 10th | 18.0 | |||||
| Lajamanu Airport | 36.9 | +2.2 | 39.3 | 21st | 19.7 | +3.1 | 15.9 | 9th | 17.0 | 4.6 | v high | 370% |
| Victoria River Downs | 37.7 | +2.0 | 40.8 | 20th | 21.2 | +3.1 | 16.9 | 8th | 20.6 | 4.4 | v high | 468% |
| Wave Hill | 37.3 | +2.1 | 40.2 | 21st | 21.4 | +3.5 | 16.4 | 10th | 3.8 | 12.4 | average | 31% |
| Barkly (district 15A) | ||||||||||||
| Elliott | 36.5 | +1.2 | 39.7 | 21st | 20.6 | +3.2 | 15.7 | 2nd | 8.4 | 5.5 | high | 153% |
| Tennant Creek Airport | 34.7 | +3.0 | 38.2 | 21st | 21.2 | +2.8 | 18.3 | 2nd | 9.6 | 7.4 | high | 130% |
| Alice Springs (district 15B) | ||||||||||||
| Alice Springs Airport | 31.7 | +4.3 | 35.9 | 20th | 13.8 | +3.5 | 6.7 | 1st | 0.2 | 8.6 | low | 2% |
| Arltunga | 30.5 | +2.9 | 35.3 | 20th | 13.2 | +3.2 | 5.0 | 2nd | 1.4 | 7.5 | average | 19% |
| Curtin Springs | 31.8 | +3.9 | 37.6 | 7th | 13.4 | +3.4 | 6.2 | 22nd | 5.0 | 9.8 | average | 51% |
| Jervois | 33.0 | +3.3 | 38.5 | 20th | 14.4 | +3.1 | 8.3 | 7th | 0 | 10.3 | lowest | 0% |
| Rabbit Flat | 36.5 | +2.1 | 40.1 | 30th | 16.0 | +1.9 | 8.8 | 1st | 3.6 | 5.1 | high | 71% |
| Territory Grape Farm | 33.1 | +2.8 | 36.8 | 20th | 14.6 | +2.8 | 8.3 | 2nd | 0 | 9.8 | lowest | 0% |
| Walungurru Airport | 34.1 | +2.3 | 37.7 | 8th | 19.3 | +2.6 | 9.8 | 19th | 3.4 | 7.1 | average | 48% |
| Yulara Airport | 32.0 | +3.2 | 36.8 | 8th | 13.3 | +2.6 | 6.9 | 22nd | 1.6 | 8.3 | average | 19% |
Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top
Notes
The Monthly climate summary, generally published on the first working day of each month, lists the main features of the weather in Northern Territory using the most timely and accurate information available on the date of publication; it will generally not be updated. More extensive discussion of significant weather events, along with later information and data that has had greater opportunity for quality control, will be presented in the Monthly Weather Review.
This statement has been prepared based on information available at 11 am on Thursday 1 October 2020. Some checks have been made on the data, but it is possible that results will change as new information becomes available.
In some situations, some or all of the rainfall is in the form of hail or snow. In these cases the totals given are for the water equivalent: the depth of liquid water that results from melting any frozen precipitation. There can be significant 'undercatch' of snow in strong winds, meaning the true precipitation can be higher than that reported.
Averages for individual sites are long-term means based on observations from
all available years of record, which vary widely from site to site.
They are not shown for sites with less than 10 years of record, as they cannot then be calculated reliably.
The median
is sometimes more representative than the
mean
of long-term average rain.
The Rank indicates how rainfall this time compares with the climate record for the site,
based on the
decile ranking
(very low rainfall is in decile 1, low in decile 2 or 3,
average in decile 4 to 7, high in decile 8 or 9
and very high is in decile 10).
The Fraction of average shows how much rain has fallen this time as a
percentage of the long-term mean.
Where temperature area averages are mentioned, they are derived from the ACORN-SAT dataset.
Further information
- Media
- media@bom.gov.au (03) 9669 4057
Unless otherwise noted, all maps, graphs and diagrams in this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
