Top End Wet Season 2023 - 2024

The raw beauty of the Top End 'build up'
( source: William Nguyen Phuoc Photography )
Imagine being out on Darwin Harbour with this monster bearing down on ya !!

6.00pm.... looks like some storm cells heading our way.....

Storm over Fogg Dam, east of Darwin
( pic by Jeni )

That first outflow of cold air from an approaching storm... I mean how good is it 'eh ?
Fair dinkum, its right up there with the first beer after a 12 hour day pouring concrete, taking delivery of a new Hilux, the first night with an 8 out of 10 ya just met at the 'grab a granny' Karaoke night at the local, the first Richmond flag after 38 years, the first meter Barra, seeing the first of ya kids born... oh'the list is endless !
But today, being the filthy hot oppressive day it was, had a cooling, clensing storm come through....
Now although the Desierto de Leanyer got SFA rain, we did get the cool outflow... bloody magic it was !!
AND ( just quietly ) a 10c , yes, you read correctly, a 10c drop in temperature ! Almost Adelaidian or Melbournian !!
Was 34c in my living room and Mother Nature turned on the natural AC
Sensational !!

Another shithouse afternoon in and around Darwn, but I doubt the 36c/26c dp's are gunna happen here at home ( per the forecast )^^

Some brutal coastal conditions around Darwin.

Darwin and district at dawn... hot, oppressive night.
Lookin' the goods over east on the radar !

All that goodness to our north passed us by....

Darwin Rain Switch Flicking On And Off
( source: Weatherzone )

Heavy rain one day, nothing much the next, heavy rain one day, nothing much the next, heavy rain one day, nothing much the next: that has been the rather unusual weather pattern in Darwin for more than a week now.
Many people mistakenly believe that it rains every day in the Top End wet season, but that's far from true.

Even in January, which is Darwin's wettest month, the city sees an average of just 21.3 rain days across the 31 days of the month.

December is on average Darwin's fourth-wettest month, with an average of 16.8 rain days across the 31 days of the month. So you'd expect rain about every second December day in Darwin.

What you wouldn’t expect is a pattern like you can see in the green column in the table below, where the rain seems to be switching on and off like lights on the Christmas tree.

According to Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard, the recent sequence of heavy rain one day, light rain or nothing the next, is likely nothing more a random pattern.
Pippard adds that the recent rain has originated from thunderstorms rather than the monsoon or a tropical low/cyclone that would deliver more consistent rainfall activity over consecutive days.
Over the next week or so, the on again, off again rain cycle looks likely to end, meaning Santa should have a mostly dry trip into Darwin for Christmas 2023.

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is about to enter a relatively inactive period, which generally diminishes the chances of storm activity over the Top End. Indeed Darwin should have a run of a few hot days leading up to Christmas, with tops of 36°C from Friday through to Sunday.

You can learn more about the MJO here. As for Darwin's Christmas Day forecast, our early prediction is for a mostly dry one, a top of 35°C, and just the chance of an afternoon shower.

Another of those filthy pre monsoonal days... 35c/28c in coastal Darwin.... thank Christ for beer...