Gosford on the NSW central coast had 68mm of rain from 9am. The highest rainfall in the previously parched Hunter Valley, the scene of massive bushfires in recent weeks, was 94mm at Tocal.

For the men of a powerline clearing gang, it was just another night in the pub after a hard day’s yakka in Queensland’s parched central highlands. But then it came. Crashing thunder, streaks of lightning and rain, sweet rain, tumbling down into the streets of Clermont in drought-declared Belyando Shire, 800km northwest of Brisbane.

The rain came two nights before the launch in Clermont of the Raise Your Spirits tour, a series of carnivals organised by Queensland graziers and graingrowers group Agforce aimed at lifting the morale of farming families suffering in the drought.

RAIN fell through the entire central and eastern halves of NSW and southeastern Queensland yesterday, the most widespread and intense falls Australia has seen for more than a year.

While the event in itself may not be enough to end the drought, the rain delighted firefighters and went a long way to providing relief to desperate farmers.

Brisbane airport had to be shut yesterday afternoon after 30mm of rain fell in 10 minutes, accompanied by 120km/h wind gusts.

There were 525 lightning strikes recorded in five minutes as a line of thunderstorms passed over Brisbane shortly before 6pm, causing traffic chaos, flash flooding and leaving 85,000 homes across southeast Queensland without power.

The storms also hit the Gold Coast and the Darling Downs around Toowoomba. Falls of up to 70mm were recorded in the Gatton and Beaudesert areas west and south of Brisbane.

Much of Sydney received more than 30mm, with Homebush getting 41mm. There were even heavier falls in the Hunter Valley and further north.

Gosford on the NSW central coast had 68mm of rain from 9am. The highest rainfall in the previously parched Hunter Valley, the scene of massive bushfires in recent weeks, was 94mm at Tocal.

Parts of the southern tablelands recorded up to 30mm in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday, including Goulburn, Crookwell and Bungonia. Solid falls were also recorded throughout the state’s central west.

Anthony Cornelius from the consultancy firm Weatherwatch said the widespread rainfall was a result of a surface low-pressure trough combining with a trough of cold air in the upper atmosphere, causing massive atmospheric instability.

Mr Cornelius said the rain began in the central areas of the country but was moving rapidly off the east coast. The western parts of Queensland and NSW did not benefit. It was premature to say the drought was over, he said.

For the men of a powerline clearing gang, it was just another night in the pub after a hard day’s yakka in Queensland’s parched central highlands. But then it came. Crashing thunder, streaks of lightning and rain, sweet rain, tumbling down into the streets of Clermont in drought-declared Belyando Shire, 800km northwest of Brisbane.

The boys couldn’t help themselves. In a moment their shirts were off and they were dancing in the downpour, celebrating their first taste of real rain after six months clearing regrowth underneath powerlines on drought-stricken properties across central and western Queensland.

The rain came two nights before the launch in Clermont of the Raise Your Spirits tour, a series of carnivals organised by Queensland graziers and graingrowers group Agforce aimed at lifting the morale of farming families suffering in the drought.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie will be in Clermont tonight to launch the tour, which will continue in Charleville on Friday and in Miles next Wednesday.

“This has certainly raised our spirits,” clearing gang member Dallas Jurgens, 26, said, dripping as he walked back to the Grand Hotel after the celebration on Monday night. “We’ve been working on properties which are really suffering.”