Top End Dry Season 2023

Few showers again over the eastern side of the Top End.

But dry and windy over the Darwin region.

Mid August... starting to warm up some out in Kakadu....

A few showers about.... but looking out to the east from home is clear atm.

Warmed up some today... peak late dry season... low humidity and dp's... 34.5c max temp.

EDIT: a late max temp of 34.6c at 4.45pm... no sea breeze today.

Some quite decent diurnals at 12.6#S ( Darwin rural area at Noonamah )

Few showers off the Tiwi Islands...

If the 35c max temps in the forecast come off, it'll be the first for 2023 at the Airport.
Highest so far this year:
Jan - 34.9c
May - 34.8c
July - 34.7c

The Build Up just Around The Corner...
( source: Pilko's Chat On Weather FB Group )
Well good morning trendsetters!
It’s is not officially the build up yet here in the Top End but unofficially I think we are all but there.
Daytime temps are starting to push up towards 35 degrees in Darwin and whilst the nights are still very pleasant, like last nights cool 20.1 in Darwin, we can expect those minimum temps to also start creeping upwards in coming days/weeks.
The influence of any strong cool changes thru the southern states affecting our weather has all but waned temperature wise, however the rather hot, dry and gusty winds are still pushing across the north in response to the latest system that affected southern Australia.
These winds should ease over the next day or so as a stable weather pattern settles over the country.
As winds ease tho we should see a bit of extra humidity filter ashore in coming days.
It won’t be enough to produce anything worthwhile if it’s rain you want but it may produce an early morning coastal shower or two.
With stable air and no cloud cover, inland temperatures will rise throughout much of the interior and its this heat that will eventually kick start an area of lower pressure over the NW of the continent.
Once this low pressure becomes organised about the Kimberley ( heat engine) that’s when we will see increased humidity and high temperatures across the Top End.
It’s about then that everyone goes bananas and the silly season is born 🤣
Early indications at this stage do not paint a pretty picture for early widespread showers and storms, with The Bureau forecasting a drier than average start to the Wet Season but we will update on that as we analyse longer term models.
So in the meantime, enjoy the “dry” weather as before you know it, you will be dripping with sweat the moment you hop out of the shower..
Have a great day....

Yeah, correct... the heat low over the Kimberleys hasn't really got going yet... and it is the 'engine room' for our build up season...
Me and Jamie have this discussion every August...lol.
It is not unusual to get one or two very isolated showers along the north coast in August, but not so usual for them to make it as far west as Darwin and the north west coasts.
We are still under the predominantly south easterly dry surge pattern atm, although the writing is on the wall for increasing heat and humidity by the end of August.
But the 'Dry' can still chuck up the odd sub 20c mins in Sept... and sometimes as low as 16c.... so we'll see...

Our first ( Airport ) +35c day of 2023 :- 35.3c max temp.
And the hottest day since a 35.3c day on 11th Dec 2022.
One can see clearly the impact of the sea breeze on the 10 minute period 3.20pm to 3.30pm.... a 180* change in wind direction, big jump in the dew point and max temps back below 32c... almost a Melbourne-esq cool change !!