Darwin rainfall totals to double for first month of the Wet

DARWIN is forecast to soak up at least twice as much rainfall than it did last year during the first month of the Wet season

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• Top End braces for wetter than average rainy season

DARWIN is forecast to soak up at least twice as much rainfall than it did last year during the first month of the Wet season.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s latest climate outlook shows much of the NT can expect above-median rainfall in October with indications that La Niña is developing.

There is a very high chance Darwin will record at least 52mm of rainfall next month after only seeing 20.2mm over the same period last year.

After a terrible Wet last year, Katherine residents can expect to see at least 15mm of rainfall next month, up from just 0.4mm the year before.

Alice Springs is forecast to record at least 16.8mm, and Tennant Creek will see at least 12mm.

However, there is still a chance the NT could see some early-onset showers before the wet season starts next month.

BOM senior meteorologist Sally Cutter said there’s a slight chance of showers or storms hitting the eastern Top End as early as the end of next week.

A BOM spokesman said the arrival of LaNiña, could see an earlier than usual onset of the monsoon in Darwin.

“This also means that we are likely to see our first cyclone earlier than normal,” he said.

“Tropical cyclone numbers across the Australian Region are typically higher than average during a La Niña and cross the coast about three weeks earlier (early December) than on average (late December).

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“There have been a handful of early cyclones observed between July and October, all remaining off Australia’s coast.

“The earliest ever cyclone to cross the NT coast was tropical cyclone Alessia on November 24, 2013.”

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