Swathes of central Australia are preparing for the best rain in two years as the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a five hundred kilometre band of rain heading for the east coast.
The bureau has issued a warning for heavy rain for towns as far north as Mt Isa and as far south as Shepparton in Victoria as ex-tropical cyclone Esther travels across the country from Western Australia.
Bureau climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said that the past summer was the warmest December on record which contributed to the dry conditions worsening the bushfire events throughout many parts of the country.
The rain will begin to ease on Thursday afternoon as ex-tropical cyclone Esther moves off the east coast into the Tasman Sea.