A widespread rain event is developing across Australia, with good falls on the way to the east and south. Australia has endured a hot and dry start to spring, exacerbating the drought conditions that are persisting in parts of all states. Thankfully in the past couple of weeks moisture levels have been increasing across the nation due to fairly consistent easterly winds in Queensland. Moisture will then pick up in the west of the country, helping produce a widespread rain event. At the moment there are a series of low pressure troughs across the nation, producing showers and storms, but today and tomorrow falls should be fairly isolated. During the weekend the troughs will combine and deepen in the east, with heavy falls spreading across western Queensland and New South Wales and parts of Victoria. On Sunday a low and trough will spread across the west of the nation, before slowly moving east through the working week. On Tuesday this system will be bringing rain and storms across the Kimberley, much of the Northern Territory and South Australia, whilst the other trough continues to produce storms in NSW. The two systems will combine their energies on Wednesday and Thursday, with rain and storms spreading across the north and east of the nation, including Tasmania. By next Friday rainfall should affect the vast majority of the nation's drought-affected areas. In QLD, the northwestern quarter of the state should see 5-15mm widespread, with isolated falls of 30mm. Southern QLD should also see 10-20mm across most areas, whilst the far west and northeast of the state will be a bit drier. NSW will fare the best, with the entire state likely to see some rain. The southern and central slopes and ranges are due to see the heaviest falls in the nation, widespread 50-150mm, with isolated heavier weekly totals. VIC, the southern half of SA and the southern districts of WA are all due to receive widespread rain of 10-30mm with only isolated pockets getting less. The only areas that should be dry during the coming week are the northwestern quarter of WA, the QLD tropics and northeastern NT. Hopefully this widespread rain event will serve our farmers well.