It was not on everyone's Santa wishlist, but outback Queenslanders are rejoicing after Christmas brought widespread rainfall to large parts of the region.
On Christmas Eve, the highest rainfall total was recorded in Urandangi, which received 92 millimetres, while parts of the west recorded up to 50mm in 24-hour periods.
The rainfall has buoyed the spirits of many graziers across the region, who were eagerly awaiting the start of the wet season.
Large parts of western Queensland have been drought-declared for nearly 10 years, so farmers are keen for as much rain as they can get.
At Glenariff Station south of Prairie, Rowena Angus said the 96mm that fell over the past 36 hours was the best Christmas gift she could have received.
"[The rain] means full dams, plenty of grass and fat cows and calves," she said.
"No anxious wait for a break in the season or desperately searching the sky for clouds."
Ms Angus said after three wet Christmases on her property, this season's rain would mean a good start to 2023.
Her station has recorded more than 630mm this year.
"We've had a fantastic season this year," Ms Angus said.
"Followed on by a pretty decent season last year also, so [this is] a very fortunate start to the grazing game."
Falls linked to cyclone
The Bureau of Meteorology said the widespread and prolonged rainfall was linked to former tropical cyclone Ellie moving south-east across the Northern Territory.
"That has dragged down a weak monsoon-like flow across much of the Top End and affected parts of the gulf and north-west," forecaster Felim Hanniffy said.
"All these systems pump a lot of moisture into the northern half of Queensland and have a knock-on effect for shower and storm activity."
The bureau said while the wet weather was not unusual for this time of year, some areas had received double their average December total.
"Urandangi received likely its heaviest December rain for the past 10 years," Mr Hanniffy said.
The downpour triggered flood warnings for the Eyre Creek as well as the Diamantina and Georgina rivers, which are expected to rise steadily in coming days.
The rain also forced road closures across the region.
Max McFadzen at Balootha station, north of Julia Creek, emptied 86mm from his rain gauges on Christmas Day.
"We can't even get out of the yard it's so wet," he said.
"It's a great Christmas present, we couldn't ask for anything better."
Mr McFadzen said the rainfall had rejuvenated grazing land across outback Queensland over the past 18 months.
"We've had a great start to this season, we had 100 millimetres a month ago and everything is in great shape going into the wet season," he said.
"If we keep getting this rain, we'll have a great season."
