Thunderstorms rumbled through Darwin late Friday night and early Saturday morning, dumping an impressive 76.8mm of rain at Darwin Airport in the 24 hours to 9am. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the bulk of the rainfall, 68.2mm fell in just one hour (between 9:30pm and 10:30pm ACST). Prior to this event, Darwin Airport hadn't experienced a day this wet since the end of the last wet season, when 115.4mm fell April 2, 2025.

While the wet season has commenced in Darwin (the wet season runs from November to April), this event stands out as an early-season outlier. Darwin Airport hasn't had a November day this wet since 2016. In fact, 76.8mm is equal to more than half Darwin's average precipitation for the month of November.

The atmosphere was primed to deliver heavy rainfall while levels of moisture and instability were quite high. Furthermore, a light steering flow from the east directed slow-moving thunderstorms over Darwin as shown in the radar loop below.

Image: Combined satellite and radar loop for Darwin in the 2 hours from 9:00pm to 11:00pm (ACST) on 7 November, 2025.

As the Top End's wet season unfolds, it will pay to keep checking the Weatherzone warnings page. https://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings