Lowest rainfall records tumble in Central Australia, Top End

MOST of Central Australia suffered its driest year on record in 2019 while Darwin and Katherine received their lowest annual rainfall in decades, early climate data for the past year has revealed

Most of Central Australia suffered its driest year on record in 2019 while Darwin and Katherine received their lowest annual rainfall in decades

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MOST of Central Australia suffered its driest year on record in 2019 while Darwin and Katherine received their lowest annual rainfall in decades, early climate data for the past year has revealed.

Initial Bureau of Meteorology statistics for 2019 show the three biggest towns in the central and southern NT all registered records for lowest annual rainfall last year, when Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Yulara recorded 67.6mm, 63.6mm and 27mm respectively – breaking their former records of 76.8mm, 170mm and 93.2mm.

Yulara’s total rainfall for the year represented less than 10 per cent of its annual average of 283mm.

The Top End didn’t fare much better with Darwin recording its driest year since 1946 with 1076mm and Tindal, near Katherine, receiving its lowest rainfall in 23 years with 602mm.

Annual heat records also tumbled in some areas.

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Darwin registered a new record of 46 days of 35C or more in 2019, including 11 consecutive days in December, and Tindal’s 55 days above 40C more than doubled the area’s previous annual record.

Darwin also sweltered through its hottest ever overnight minimum on December 27 when the mercury dropped to just 30.2C, remaining above 30C overnight for only the second time in its history.

BOM meteorologist Bradley Wood said 2019 had been a “very hot and dry year” that had set records up and down the NT.

“2019 started off with a really poor wet season, during the January/February/March months, then as we headed into the middle of the year, there was a strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole which really led to those hot and dry conditions throughout most of the Territory,” he said.

However, Mr Wood said the remainder of the 2019-20 NT wet season was likely to mark a return to normal, with two or three monsoonal bursts.

“For the rest of the wet season this year we’re looking at about average conditions, which is an improvement on what we saw in the last year,” he said.

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BOM has forecast rain and cooler temperatures in parts of the southern NT this weekend, including in Yulara.

A monsoon trough is also forming north of the Top End but is not expected to produce monsoonal conditions in the NT in the next few days.