Wanganui's dry spell has broken, after 34 days with not a single drop of rain.
On Wednesday Wanganui got 5.6mm, with more last night.
And the good news from MetService is more rain is likely over the next few days.
The Fire Service will review the total fire ban in the district on Monday if there has been enough rain.
Wanganui's fire danger is listed as extreme. On April 1 a total fire ban came into force across the Wanganui district and the Patea ward of the South Taranaki district.
Dan Corbett from the MetService said Wanganui was one of several western areas of the country that had been particularly dry through early autumn.
"What brought this very welcome rain was soupy, humid tropical air moving down from the north," he said.
"Then there's another lump of rain in store for Saturday and Sunday, so all that dry ground should be starting to soften nicely," he said.
Meanwhile, Mosston School was celebrating the return of the rain. Principal Michelle Watson said this year the school has had to purchase six tanks of water at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
With no rain since the start of term one, the school's 25,000-litre tank had not withstood the demand.
"The school has not previously required extra water to this degree, and we're now looking to buy another tank, which will cost $6500."