The main link we refer to is the government link at http://www.bom.gov.au/

It has a very good search link

Best time to visit Darwin

We suggest considering the following for different reasons.

The 'Dry Season' - May till October - (as pictured right) because the days are warm and the sky is blue and the night's are cool. The average maximum temperature for June-July is approx. 32°C

Another time to visit Darwin

The 'Wet Season' - Now marketed as 'Tropical Summer' from November till 1st May - 'rightly so' simply because it doesn't always rain.

We locals know this but as soon as you say 'Wet Season' to anyone overseas or down south the things of rain 24/7 like they often get.

November to December - However 'build up' storms are impressive and lightning strikes are frequent. In fact the Top End of Australia records more lighting strikes per year than any other place on earth.

So let's look at this so called 'Tropical Summer' - well lets take December.
Rob's Reminising!!! We had our close friends martijn and Nicole from Holland hanging out to go from darwin to Broome on the Gibb River Road and they wanted to leave on December 9th, 2007. So I watched the weather pattern closely every day and I tell you what it rained that I saw only about 5 times once for 3 hours (in Marrara-Darwin) and the other times for about 1-2 hours. Guess what it's now Dec 17th and they are are on the Gibb River Road we hear - can't wait for their photo's to show you.

Kakadu National Park - Seasons

But Australia's Kakadu sees seasons of varied extremes -- so varied, in fact, that the park's longtime aboriginal inhabitants have divided the year into six distinct seasons.

Gunumeleng Pre-Monsoon Storm Season
Gunumeleng, from mid-October to late December, may in fact last from a few weeks to several months. It is the pre-monsoon season of hot weather that becomes more and more humid. Thunderstorms build in the afternoons and scattered showers bring a tinge of green to the dry land. As the streams begin to run, acidic water that washes from the floodplains can cause fish to die in billabongs with low oxygen levels. Waterbirds spread out as surface water and new growth become more widespread. Barramundi move from the waterholes downstream to the estuaries to breed. This was when Bininj/Mungguy moved camp from the floodplains to the stone country, to shelter from the violent storms of the coming wet season.

Gudjewg - Monsoon Season
Gudjewg, from January to March, can be described as the 'true' wet season. It is a time of thunderstorms, heavy rain and flooding. The heat and humidity generate an explosion of plant and animal life. Spear grass grows to over 2 metres tall and creates a silvery-green hue throughout the woodlands. Magpie geese nest in the sedgelands. Flooding may cause goannas, snakes and rats to seek refuge in the trees. Eggs and stranded animals are a good food source for Bininj/Mungguy during this time.

Banggereng - Knock 'em down storm Season
Banggerreng, in April, is the season when the rain clouds have dispersed and clear skies prevail. The vast expanses of floodwater recede and streams start to run clear. Most plants are fruiting and animals are caring for their young. Violent, windy storms early in this season flatten the spear grass; they are called 'knock 'em down' storms.

Yegge - Cooler but still humid Season
Yegge, from May to mid-June, is relatively cool with low humidity. Early morning mists hang low over the plains and waterholes. The shallow wetlands and billabongs are carpeted with water lilies. Drying winds and flowering Darwin woolly butt tell Bininj/Mungguy that it is time to start burning the woodlands in patches to 'clean the country' and encourage new growth for grazing animals.

Wurrgeng - Cold Weather Season
Wurrgeng, from mid-June to mid-August, is the 'cold weather' time; humidity is low, daytime temperatures are around 30°C and night-time temperatures are around 17°C. Most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out. Burning continues, extinguished by the dew at night. By day, birds of prey patrol the fire lines as insects and small animals try to escape the flames. Magpie geese, fat and heavy after weeks of abundant food, and a myriad of other waterbirds crowd the shrinking billabongs.

Gurrung - Hot Dry Weather
Gurrung, from mid-August to mid-October, is hot and dry. It is still 'goose time' but also time for Bininj/Mungguy to hunt file snakes and long-necked turtles. Sea turtles lay their eggs on the sandy beaches of Field Island and West Alligator Head and goann as rob their nests sometimes. White-breasted wood swallows arrive as thunderclouds build, signalling the return of Gunumeleng.

Cyclones - January to March, can be described as the 'true' wet season. It is a time of thunderstorms, heavy rain and flooding.

The great thing about Darwin many our clients don't realise is we have some of the best preparation procedures in the world - seriously the folks at NTES are amazing. Also did you know all the new buildings since Cyclone Tracy (1974) have to be cyclone coded that's why the property prices are a bit higher. Such as screws in the roof instead of nails and also extra rods in the block work. Now for investors this is great your house will last a few hundreds more years we reckon. If you have lived here for a while you will mostly say you either don't mind the wet or it doesn't worry you. We asked around 100 folks for this web site and 3 said they were unsure of the season because of cyclones. Now these 3 had only been living here a year. The rest knew that Darwin has good warning levels, good access in and out of the city, very good preparation measures and 99% of the time they miss Darwin by 100-200klm and were back out to sea. The ones that left a mark on Darwin city was Cyclone Tracy (1974) and Cyclone Gretel (1983).

http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/Met/index.html

External Information Links

This season 2007/2008 the Northern Territory is expecting a busier cyclone season than last year, with an average to above average number of cyclones in the Northern Region. The average is 2 to 3. http://www.bom.gov.au/ (You are linking out to another site here)

For further information on warning services, go to the “Tropical Cyclone Information” section of the web page at: www.bom.gov.au/weather/nt/cyclone/ (You are linking out to another site here)

Oh you want to know about Cyclone Tracy (1974) - You are linking out to another site here
http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/basic/cyc_tracy.html

Cyclones and Rob

Rob's Reminising!!! Oh John Green - remembered that cyclone - weather depression we had in 89' wasn't it? - in Darwin and we were at the Hawaiian Party and the owners planted the baby palm trees earlier that day out the backyard. When the rain and wind came the palms shoot off and flew out of the ground. What was funny was 50 folks in grass hula skirts all soaking wet inside a 3 bedroom house still partying throughout the whole storm 'Only in Darwin' . Motto of the tale- To our visitors take it all in your stride and enjoy Darwin all year year no matter what the weather.

Rob's Reminising!!! We spent ages last year looking for a life jacket for 'airbags' who has his pond in our yard, who thinks he is human and will only eat from our hands (pictured right) and couldn't find one to fit him. So we built him a surfboard to ride our the next cyclone - if a cyclone ever decides to visit us. hahahaha