Two bad wet seasons in a row raises questions about a change in patterns

"From October, I've measured rainfall as being only 418mm," Mr Mathieson said.

"Usually, we'd expect it to be over a thousand - we see almost zero rainfall across the dry season so that's the majority of the rain we're going to see this year."

However the wet season still has several weeks to run and the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting the chance of storms over the next few days.

"I don't know if two (poor wet seasons) makes a pattern particularly as we do have variable rainfall here, but we've had five low years with the last two dramatic, particularly in terms of not just rainfall but the temperature being very hot," Mr Mathieson said.

Mr Mathieson, who has been in Katherine for 39 years and worked as the town's official weather observer from 2005 to 2011, says this is unprecedented "at least during my time living here".

"This week in 2006 we still had floods in town. We were hoping for a big March to replenish the waterways but it's easy to see that hasn't happened," Mr Mathieson said.

"I would expect this would mean we see another year like last year, with agriculture struggling and increased fire threat towards the end of the year," he said.

He said the local environment will survive for now but local pastoralists will be the first to feel the pinch of drought.

"The river is essentially at it's dry-season level which is a bad sign for the town, tourism has of course been cancelled for this year already and then the next biggest industry being agriculture is set to take a hit," he said.

"The river has never stopped before although it has gotten close. That really depends on what people pump out of it as it does feed the underground aquifers and that's going to make it very hard for certain irrigators this year," Mr Mathieson said.

The Bureau of Meteorology says sunny conditions will prevail across the NT except for isolated showers and thunderstorms around the coast of the Top End and in the far south west.

From tomorrow, increasing cloud will bring rain to much of the Territory, except for the southern Simpson district with the chance of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in the Top End.

Rain from occasional showers and storms is forecast to continue at times across most of the Top End this Good Friday and Saturday, with daily totals of around 40-50mm and isolated falls of up to 100mm.

Recent cooler temperatures experienced overnight in the south, including an overnight low of 9.5C in Alice Springs on Monday, the coolest since October, are set to rise as the week progresses.

The forecast is for a return to average overnight temperatures and daytime temperatures to also increase to above average.

By Easter Sunday and Monday rain is expected to start easing to around 10-20mm daily totals in the Top End.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox each Friday at 6am from the Katherine Times. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here.