Average Weather in Nhulunbuy Australia

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2. Australia
3. Northern Territory
4. East Arnhem
5. Nhulunbuy

In Nhulunbuy, the wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is muggy and partly cloudy, and it is hot and windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 68°F to 91°F and is rarely below 63°F or above 94°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Nhulunbuy, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Nhulunbuy begins around April 12 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around November 17. On August 22, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 48% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 17 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around April 12. On January 16, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 90% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 10% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Nhulunbuy varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from December 12 to April 22, with a greater than 35% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 68% on February 25.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from April 22 to December 12. The smallest chance of a wet day is 1% on August 10.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 68% on February 25.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Nhulunbuy experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.8 months, from October 25 to June 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around February 10, with an average total accumulation of 11.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from June 18 to October 25. The least rain falls around August 19, with an average total accumulation of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Nhulunbuy does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 50 minutes of 12 hours throughout. In 2017, the shortest day is June 21, with 11 hours, 25 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 12 hours, 51 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:47 AM on November 20, and the latest sunrise is 58 minutes later at 6:44 AM on July 12. The earliest sunset is at 6:04 PM on May 31, and the latest sunset is 52 minutes later at 6:55 PM on January 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Nhulunbuy during 2017.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Nhulunbuy experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.8 months, from August 27 to June 22, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 68% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is February 3, with muggy conditions 100% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is August 5, with muggy conditions 58% of the time.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Nhulunbuy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from April 11 to September 13, with average wind speeds of more than 7.0 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is June 25, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.1 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.9 months, from September 13 to April 11. The calmest day of the year is December 1, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Nhulunbuy varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.2 months, from January 2 to March 8, with a peak percentage of 51% on February 14. The wind is most often from the east for 9.5 months, from March 8 to December 23, with a peak percentage of 87% on September 22. The wind is most often from the north for 1.4 weeks, from December 23 to January 2, with a peak percentage of 36% on January 1.

Nhulunbuy is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 5.6 months, from November 8 to April 25, with an average temperature above 84°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is December 13, with an average temperature of 86°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 2.5 months, from June 24 to September 9, with an average temperature below 79°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is August 3, with an average temperature of 77°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from September 7 to November 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest day of the year is October 24, with an average of 7.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from December 24 to March 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 5.1 kWh. The darkest day of the year is January 24, with an average of 4.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Nhulunbuy are -12.182 deg latitude, 136.778 deg longitude, and 10 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Nhulunbuy contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 272 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 31 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (328 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (558 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Nhulunbuy is covered by water (35%), sparse vegetation (28%), artificial surfaces (16%), and trees (15%), within 10 miles by water (68%) and sparse vegetation (13%), and within 50 miles by water (77%) and trees (13%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Nhulunbuy, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Gove Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Nhulunbuy.

At a distance of 11 kilometers from Nhulunbuy, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Nhulunbuy according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.