2005 - 2006 Wet Season

Official Chase reports

Monday 10th October 2005

Friday 4th November 2005

Significant Weather details for the season

Misc pics of the season

 

2005 – 2006 significant  Events: 

Overview :

 The 05/06 season was probably one of the worst most locals experienced in the Top End in a long time.  There were fewer than average storms passing overhead, and storm intensities were somewhat less than usual.  Although noteworthy was the 126km/hr gusts at the airport and 200 ground strikes per minute which destroyed the Airport weather station (direct lightning hit not surprisingly).  Also noteworthy was the widespread hail outbreak across the Top End, unusual for hail to survive the wrath of the warm tropical lower levels, let alone make it to ground as even pea sized.

 Naturally these reports are from automatic stations, observers in certain situations and people who have reported directly to the BOM.  Many events would go un-noted here, and I for one haven’t made a single report in my years of being storm obsessed.  Id encourage giving the BOM a call if a weather event is dangerous or has caused damage.

 The BOM Reported the following  events for the season :

Oct 05

 On the 23rd Darwin River Dam recorded 164mm of rain from a storm and flash flooding was reported from south of Darwin Harbour. On the 26th, a small squall line affected the rural areas south of Darwin. Trees were brought down at Virginia and there were reports of damage to the mango crop. Flash flooding was reported at Humpty Doo. Wind gusts were estimated at approx 85 km/hr at McMinn’s Lagoon.

On the 29th wind gusts from a severe thunderstorm at Tipperary Station, south of Darwin, damaged some buildings.

November 05

On the afternoon of the 4th a small line of thunderstorms moved through the Darwin rural area. Tree damage was reported from McMinns Lagoon.

In the early hours of the 12th, persistent thunderstorms produced very heavy rainfall in the southern Darwin-Daly region. Tindal RAAF Base received 91.8 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9 am, with 86.8 mm falling in the space of 1 hour.

On the 14th, an afternoon thunderstorm moved across Darwin from the northeast, and produced a gust of 126 km/h at Darwin airport. The automatic weather station at the airport was hit by lightning and stopped recording during the storm, but between 9am and 3pm 25mm of rain was recorded, most from the start of the storm. There were uprooted or snapped trees along a 1 kilometre stretch of the Stuart Highway in Winnellie, adjacent to the airport, and the outward bound section of the highway was blocked. Power supplies to many residents were disrupted for 10 minutes to an hour. Another thunderstorm the same afternoon produced an 87 km/h wind gust at Noonamah.

Thunderstorms around midnight on the 19th produced flash flooding at a camping spot near the Katherine Gorge. A car was washed downriver and lost. Nitmiluk Rangers’ Station, at the bottom of Katherine Gorge, recorded 84.0 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9 am on the 20th.

December 05

During the afternoon and evening of the 24th, a long-lived squall line affected the north western Top End. The squall line produced the following wind gusts: 109 km/h at McCluer Island, 96 km/h at Darwin Airport and Lee Point, and 91 km/h at Milingimbi. A large tree was uprooted at Ludmilla Primary School in Darwin.

On the 26th heavy rainfall associated with thunderstorms produced a 24 hour total of 126.4mm at Tindal RAAF Base, near Katherine. 70.4mm of this total fell in 1 hour in the early evening: an average recurrence interval of 10-20 years

Jan  06

During the evening of the 8th a long lived squall line produced a 98km/h wind gust at Centre Island.

On the 9th, there were widespread reports of hail across the Top End, with several reports of pea-sized hail at Palmerston during the afternoon. Gove Airport also reported similar sized hail just after midday, as well as at Alcan Mine around the same time. This is the first known report of hail in the Nhulunbuy area. Timber Creek, on the same day, reported small hail, and some damaging wind gusts that brought down tree limbs around the racecourse.

On the afternoon of the 11th a large scale long lived squall line formed in the Gulf Country. It progressed rapidly westwards through central parts of the Northern Territory, and into the Kimberley by the next morning. The squall line produced a dust storm and wind gusts up to 80km/h at Tennant Creek, a 94km/h wind gust at Victoria River Downs, a 87 km/h wind gust at Kununurra and a 98 km/h wind gust at Wyndham, before heading out into the Timor Sea.

Overnight on the 17th/18th, Hooker Creek recorded 111.4 mm of rain in 9 hours from a slow moving thunderstorm complex. Charles Point recorded a 98 km/h wind gust from a monsoon squall line.

Feb 06

Around midday on the 1st a monsoon squall line passed through Darwin and went on to produce a 96 km/h gust at Woolner Station about 50 kilometres east of Darwin.

On the 17th there were reports of very gusty winds and 3 trees were blown down by afternoon thunderstorms developing near Humpty Doo in the Darwin rural area.

March 06

An early morning thunderstorm produced heavy rainfall over Darwin's northern suburbs during a 5 hour period on the 22nd. Some significant 24 hour totals to 9am included: 199mm Leanyer, 198mm Darwin Hospital, 191mm Lee Point, 178mm Karama, 144mm Thorak Cemetery, 143mm Charles Darwin University, 131mm Wagait Beach, 121mm CSIRO Berrima, 105mm Marrara. 175mm fell in 5 hours at Lee Point

April 06

On the 5th a squall line uprooted trees, snapped one tree and brought down branches near the Katherine Rural College (16 kilometres northwest of Katherine). There was very heavy rain, with white-out conditions and water 5-8 cm deep.