Ex-tropical cyclone Esther has finished her "grand tour" of Western Australia's Kimberley, delighting pastoralists and tourism operators with rainfall totals not seen in some parts of the region for several years.

Key points: Farmers, business operators and residents in the Kimberley have welcomed drenching rains brought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Esther

Farmers, business operators and residents in the Kimberley have welcomed drenching rains brought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Esther One farmer described the rainfall as "close to perfect" — so far there has been no major flooding, though some roads are closed

One farmer described the rainfall as "close to perfect" — so far there has been no major flooding, though some roads are closed For many pastoralists, who had seen waterways run dry for the first time in decades, the rain has come in the nick of time

The tropical low crossed the border into the Northern Territory overnight, but not before doing a four-day loop between Kununurra, Derby and Halls Creek, dumping widespread falls between 50 and 350 millimetres.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Angus Moore said the high amount of rainfall across the region was due to the unusual "slow-moving loop" taken by the tropical low.

"It's sort of done the grand tour of the Kimberley, coming into the north-east and moving out to the west coast before going inland south of Fitzroy Crossing and Halls creek," he said.

"We've probably seen the highest rainfall total we're going to see out of this system in terms of Kimberley rainfall, but there's a chance some areas in the NT could receive similar amounts to what we've seen in the last 24 hours."

The system may even bring rain to the north-west of NSW by the end of the week.

Ex-TC Esther, a slow moving tropical low, has done a loop of the Kimberley region. ( Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology )

Where it all began for Esther

Esther began her life on the Queensland side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, crossing the NT coast last Monday as a category 1 cyclone before downgrading to a tropical low and heading west.

After drenching Top End cattle stations, the storm did not disappoint as it crossed the NT/WA border on Friday morning, dumping steady rain across farmland and rivers in the Ord Valley.

Kununurra farmer Christian Bloecker said his properties got 334 and 265mm over 48 hours.

"There's plenty of water covering fields but it should drain away fine," he said.

"The country around us certainly needed this drink."

Ex-TC Esther drenched farmland and irrigation channels in the Ord Valley. ( Supplied: Christian Bloecker )

Shire of Wyndham and East Kimberley president and Ord farmer, David Menzel, said apart from minor damage caused by some roads flooding, the Kununurra township had escaped largely unscathed following the downpour.

Mr Menzel said he did not believe there had been any major damage to crops.

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"The cotton is in and we don't want that under water too long," he said.

"Most of the farm work is still to come so it shouldn't delay things long at all.

"It's as close to perfect as you can imagine, and certainly for the surrounding pastoral areas it's really exciting after a tough couple of years."

Pastoralists breathe sigh of relief

As the system moved west across the Kimberley, the landscape along the Gibb River Road was transformed as rain topped up local rivers.

Ellenbrae Station, which is approximately 230 kilometres from Kununurra, received 190mm in little more than 24 hours.

Cattle station owner and tourism operator, Larissa White, said the creek running through their property had run dry for the first time in locals living memory last September.

But after Esther came through, the puddle was now looking more like a river.

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"We won't be going to the airstrip or getting the mail plane any time soon," she said.

"But it's quite a relief because we weren't sure about water for this year if this didn't occur.

"It means [we] don't have to worry about where the water is going to come from or if there's going to be feed around."

Other tourist stays along the popular outback track, like El Questro and Home Valley Station, also received 150-300mm of rain, getting waterfall attractions pumping ahead of tourism season.

Summah, Bayley and Blake, who live at Mt Barnett, celebrating the rain on the Gibb River Road. ( Supplied: Jodie Jordan Newman )

Esther doubles back

After Esther reached the coast and doubled back inland, it was time for pastoralists between Derby and Halls Creek to enjoy some rain as the low began its passage south-west through the region.

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Some of the highest rainfall totals in the last 24 hours to 9am yesterday were recorded at Larrawa Airstrip, which received 202mm, Margaret River with 198mm, and Christmas Creek Homestead, which received 151mm.

Kalyeeda Station manager James Camp said his property, about 250km east of Derby, had received 240mm in 24 hours from the system.

He said it was a welcome sight for pastoralists in the area, some of whom had suffered one of their driest seasons on record in 2019.

"The region has been suffering without a good soaking for a while," Mr Camp said.

"So hopefully this will mean people will replenish their water stocks.

"For the past two years we've been struggling with water because of the bad wet seasons — there's a billabong next to the homestead that hasn't had water in it for almost two years.

"That's chock-a-block now."

Mr Camp said the Fitzroy River was on the rise but there had not been any major flooding, which was a bonus for cattle producers.

The Fitzroy is expected to exceed the minor flood level of 9.50 metres on Tuesday morning.

Six Mile Creek crossing on Wangkatjungka road near Fitzroy Crossing, following heavy rainfall from Esther. ( Supplied: The Elusive Toni Facebook page )

Lake Argyle on the rise

All the extra rainfall from Esther has also been welcomed by tourism operators at Lake Argyle, which is currently sitting at its lowest point in 25 years.

The dam, which is the second largest freshwater storage in the country, was created in 1972 to support irrigation expansion, but it is also enjoyed by tourists and local skippers.

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Lake Argyle is currently sitting at 43 per cent, but at its capacity it holds nearly 20 times the volume of Sydney Harbour.

Now, after more than 230mm falling at Lake Argyle and some much-needed rain over the Ord River catchment near Halls Creek, the lake is expected to rise a metre or two over the coming days.

"There's a lot of rain coming through Halls Creek and the catchment area — that's a 46,000 square kilometre catchment area," Josh Melville, of Lake Argyle Adventures, said.

"[It's] the first in a good few years — we're all ecstatic to have the rain like this."

In the meantime, locals have been making the most of the waterfalls flowing around Lake Argyle, despite some intermittent road closures.

"We've just got unlimited natural infinity pools, waterfalls out of all the rocks, it's beautiful," Mr Melville said.

"We don't know if we're going to get a wet season like this again next year, so take advantage of it while it's here."

Big rains good for barra

The steady downpour from Esther has also got East Kimberley fishers excited, after it flushed local rivers and replenished a crucial barramundi breeding habitat.

Greg "Hairydog" Harman, who runs fishing tours from his camp on the Lower Ord, said it would make for a good fishing season.

"We always get some sort of a breed, but if you don't get a good wet season, the little tiny barramundi get eaten by everything else," he said.

"If you've got a floodplain that gives a little fish a chance to get to a size that they can defend themselves from other predators in the river."

He said the flooding had brought crocodiles close to his fishing camp on the Ord, only metres from his front gate.

Waterfalls gushed from the rocks into the Ord River for the first time in years. ( ABC Kimberley: Rebecca Nadge )

Flood warnings current

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services urged the public to stay vigilant around floodwaters, after a group of people became stuck near Kununurra on the long weekend.

"We received a call for a group of people that were trapped in Hidden Valley in Mirrama National Park in the east Kimberley," he said.

"The group were searching for waterfalls and were lucky to escape with only minor injuries … worst case scenario there could have been risk to life, for sure."

While the immediate threat of severe weather has passed as Ex-TC Esther makes her way towards the Red Centre, there are still flood warnings in place across the Kimberley.

The Gibb River Road is shut to all vehicles, and the Great Northern Highway is also closed in both directions from Willare to Halls Creek.