After 25 years as a mango farmer on the outskirts of the dry, outback town of Katherine, Mitchael Curtis thought he had seen it all – then this morning, out of the blue, it rained.
We're technically months away from the dreaded build-up, but as dark clouds and sweltering humidity blanketed Katherine, you'd easily be forgiven for thinking the heat had arrived early and hit with a sweltering force.
"Last night we were sitting outside having a meal thinking gee it's a bit sweaty, this time of year it's not usually," Mr Curtis said.
"Then this morning we woke up and it was cloudy and there was a little bit of rain on the radar … surprisingly we copped some of it.
"In the middle of the year we've had misty rain, but an actual cloud burst, I don't think I've ever seen it this time of year. It came down pretty hard."
Six millimetres of rain fell in just five minutes, and Mr Curtis' property, 20 minutes south of Katherine, was not alone in recording the drizzle.
Only one month into the dry season – typically distinguished by cold mornings and clement days – Sally Cutter, the senior forecaster at the Darwin Bureau of Meteorology, said that while the unusual weather event was not entirely rare, "it's not common".
At this time of year, Katherine's weather typically averages around 30 degrees, but over the next couple of days the temperatures are expected to soar as high as 36 degrees.
Ms Cutter said it was also "slightly unusual" to get cloud bands this far north.
"It's certainly not what you think the dry season should be like," she said.
So, what's causing this unusual weather?
A southern trough that has helped bring cool air to the Southern parts of the Northern Territory is also bringing higher temperatures and humidity to the Katherine region.
"It's brought humidity off the Arafura and Timor seas with the winds turning more north and bringing that moisture on shore," Ms Cutter said.
"What's happened today is that cloud band has moved far enough east that we've started to see just the very northern parts of that cloud band clip the southern parts of the Daly district and into the Carpentaria district.
How long is this weather sticking around for?
Ms Cutter said the weather this year has been warmer than usual – mainly because there haven't been any of those big highs that come through the bite that push the cool dry air into the Top End and the moisture out to sea.
She said the hot and sticky temperatures would likely stick around until mid to late next week, with the BOM predicting 36 degree days over the weekend.
"Hopefully we'll see a good change come right through the Territory mid to late next week, which will cool things down," Ms Cutter said.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
Off the back of a dismal wet season, the small outburst of rain was no landmark event for Mr Curtis – but it was nonetheless welcome.
"Six mm won't do much, it just cleans the trees up and freshens them up," he said.
"We pulled a heap of fertiliser out of our shed to clean it, so that would be the reason [it rained], I'm sure.
