Virtually all of the Western Australian wheat belt has just had rain, for some it has been drenching, two months' worth in less than a day. Merredin and Bencubbin were amongst the wettest, gaining 38mm and 30mm respectively. This is more than twice their monthly average and it all fell in less than a day. The preference for farmers in these areas would be for lighter, steady rain, but it came down in a hurry, mostly from thunderstorms. It is a bit too intense for most crops to handle, but it is rain. Those as far east as York could have done with a bit more. York itself and Northam only picked up about one millimetre each in the last 24 hours. The low pressure trough causing the storms and rain is still in the area and is only gradually losing intensity. As a result, widespread falls of five to 20mm are likely between now and the weekend with potential for more than 30mm in thunderstorms. Some follow-up rain is likely as early as Sunday due to an intense low south of the state sending a strong front across the region. This time rainfall will be mostly in the west and near the coast, generally less than 10mm for the wheat belt.