Farmers celebrate downpour by wakeboarding on their paddock. Photo / AAP
Aussies are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning after our thirsty country was showered with rain.
The wild weather has already caused flash flooding in parts of the country, with rain expected to continue today and into the weekend for much of Australia's east, stretching all the way from Queensland down to Tasmania.
NSW cattle grazier Dan Landers came up with an innovative way to celebrate the rain after heavy downpours in Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands.
"I knew they had a wakeboard in the shed," he said.
"We got that out, we tied some bailing twine together that we'd been using to feed the cattle with, and put it to good use."
He tied the homemade rope to a buggy being driven by his two friends, beers in hand, clung on and surfed a four-foot deep puddle in what was a bone-dry paddock just hours earlier.
"It was really fun, bit different to your usual surfing, good to get out in it though," Mr Landers said.
"I was a bit worried about sticks and rocks, it was muddy, there was sticks flowing down the stream from the neighbour's place, cow poo."
The rain was so heavy on the NSW Central Coast that the popular Australian Reptile Park was forced to shut down after a flash flood tore through the zoo.
The park, which is located at Somersby, uploaded incredible footage to its Facebook page showing water gushing through enclosures.
Drenched koalas had to be moved to safety while other staff were located outside the Alligator Lagoon to make sure there were no escapees as the water level rose quickly towards to the fence line.
Australian Reptile Park Director, Tim Faulkner, said the park hadn't seen this kind of flooding in over 15 years,
"This is incredible! Just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires, just 8km away from the Park here in Somersby," he said.
"Today, we've had the whole team out there, drenched, acting fast to secure the safety of our animals and defend the Park from the onslaught of water."
"Our quick action with the flooding this morning has allowed us to get the situation under control and we are confident that we will be business as usual tomorrow. We'll be open and ready to welcome visitors for the rest of the summer school holidays!"
Mr Faulkner said while the rain between the bushfire crisis and the sudden flooding was "striking" he and his team were well aware that much of Australia is still burning.
"The rain doesn't replace the millions of hectares of habitat that has been lost over the last few months," he said.
Sydney was also drenched, with rain bucketing down across the city and causing a few issues for morning commuters.
Rain flooded roads in the CBD, even forcing the light rail to shut briefly.
Apparently, part(s) of the light rail track system are flooded in the Sydney CBD. I’m told we might be sitting here for some time. 🚃 🌧
— John Bergin (@theburgerman) January 16, 2020
A few soaks & spills this morning after wading my way to work, thanks to some timely Sydney Flash Flooding! Praying some of this reaches those who need it. #sydneyrain #sydneyweather pic.twitter.com/U6CFptbnu0
— Anna Kamasz (@AnnaKamasz) January 16, 2020
Amazing how fast Sydney can go from being shut down by smoke to being shut down by rain.#sydneyrain
— Byron Kaye (@byronkaye) January 16, 2020
But the flooding across the city wasn't met with the usual grumbling from morning commuters, instead everyone seemed to embrace the much-needed rain.
Big fat soaking raindrops - best sight ever #SydneyRain @BOM_NSW pic.twitter.com/jKBY8aJyck
— Ming Long AM (@MingYLong) January 16, 2020
It’s an excellent day for a celebratory rain paddle!! #sydneyrain pic.twitter.com/6lxasLx6DL
— Annie Parker #BlackLivesMatter (@annie_parker) January 16, 2020
In Queensland, Palen Creek, near Mount Barney and the NSW border, has already received a whopping 166mm.
A second weather system is also forecast to form on Monday, bringing heavy thunderstorms and a massive rain event further inland, potentially bringing showers to drought-weary farmers.
Boonanghi, on the NSW mid-north coast, has recorded 126mm of rain while Bulahdelah received 112mm, its best rainfall since March 2017.
The town of Bundarra in the Northern Tablelands also recorded its best rainfall since November 2011 after receiving 105mm.
Victorians who prayed for rain had their prayers answered this week when a major thunderstorm brought lightning and filled the water gauges with more than a month's worth of rain in some parts. Melbourne also experienced heavy showers, triggering road warnings as water flooded the city.
The same storm brought heavy rain north. Canberra experienced a severe thunderstorm, as did the NSW coast from Wollongong all the way to Newcastle.
Thousands of lightning strikes causes power outages to more than 9000 homes across the Hunter Region.
Experts say more rain is on the way on Friday but the storm brings with it strong winds meaning there's a real risk trees damaged by fire will topple.
Sydneysiders should expect showers and thunderstorms in the morning with a chance of 25mm before it clears and calm conditions roll in.
But the calm won't last long. By the weekend, a major weather system will impact people in Victoria, South Australia and parts of NSW.
Sky News Weather chief meteorologist Tom Saunders said there was even potential for "supercell storms".