Weather News

Thunderstorms crack dawn in Darwin

Tristan Meyers, Saturday November 28, 2015 - 13:10 AEDT

A severe thunderstorm tore through Darwin early this morning, bringing damaging winds and heavy rainfall totals.

The pre-monsoon build-up is well and truly underway, with thundery afternoon showers becoming commonplace over the Top End. Early this morning, a severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds was issued at 3 am. As the thunderhead loomed towards the city, detailed bulletins were issued.

Although heavy rainfall is not unusual in these tropical storms, totals were still impressive. Dum In Mirrie collected 59mm from this storm, with 45mm of this falling within half an hour. To put this in perspective, Canberra's November average is just 65mm.

Within a 50 km radius of the Darwin city centre, over 12 000 lightning strikes were detected. Considering the short duration of the storm, works out to be around two strikes per second.

Showers and thunderstorms will be a regular occurrence throughout the summer months for Darwin and are likely for the remainder of this week.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2015

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