Darwin's skies were lit up overnight and into Sunday morning, with thunderstorms generating heavy rain, signalling the Top End has not quite moved into its dry season yet. 

In just the 30 minutes before 9am on Sunday morning, Darwin recorded 32.6mm of rainfall. This amounts to just over 30% of their average April rainfall, an indication of what a torrential downpour it must have been. Similarly, Kangaroo Flats recorded 35mm, Denpelli Airport 29mm and Bradshaw 23mm. Accompanying the heavy rain was over 11,000 lightning strikes recorded in a 100km radius of Litchfield National Park. 

This cluster of thunderstorms was thanks to a low pressure system and associated trough residing directly over the region, a typical pattern observed during the wet season in the Top End. Over the coming days, this trough looks to weaken and move west, with indications that later this week from Thursday, this trough may again strengthen. Darwin and surrounding areas may again experience widespread thunderstorm activity with the accompanying heavy rainfall, potentially more than what was recorded on Sunday morning.