Farmers are rejoicing in parts of western Queensland after going from dusty paddocks to flooding rains.

While the drought is far from broken and plenty of graziers are yet to receive falls, for the lucky ones the past four days have brought a reprieve that is the stuff of dreams.

Days of steady, falling rain from a monsoon trough, with no storm activity or disastrous winds, provided the long-falling, beautiful moisture that outback paddocks were desperate for.

McKinlay Shire Mayor Belinda Murphy said the transformation was hard to fathom.

A stark comparison at Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria, showing June 2018 and now. ( Supplied: Catherine Barrett, Mark Ambrose )

"You just can't believe that just over a week ago, you would have been standing in a paddock full of dust wondering how on Earth we're going to deal with this year, and what's going to happen with it being being consistently over 40 degrees [Celsius].

"A week later, you're isolated [and] being surrounded by floodwaters," she said.

"You know, that's outback Australia."

No shortage of alcohol

Danielle Doyle was making her way home to Mittiebah Station in the Northern Territory after dropping her children at boarding school in south-east Queensland when she, her husband, and their youngest child got stuck in McKinlay.

She said they were part of a merry band of about 40 people stuck in the small town, which has a population of about 180.

Ms Doyle said, thankfully, they were not the only family stranded, with another family also trying to head back to the Northern Territory with their three children.

Flora Downs Station, west of Camooweal, has received a much-needed soaking. ( Supplied: Flora Downs Station )

"I think everyone is doing really well. There could be worse places to be stuck than a pub," Ms Doyle said.

"Debbie and Frank who own the Walkabout Creek Hotel have been so welcoming and helpful.

Local weather forecast Check the current and seven-day forecast, temperatures and warnings for your town on the ABC Western Qld weather page.

"We're very lucky. We're definitely not running out of beer or wine or alcohol."

The Doyles were part of the lucky group who were given free meat off the Woolworths truck, something Ms Doyle said was appreciated by the stranded travellers.

"There are quite a few trucks stuck here, and as my mum says, it's better to be born lucky than born rich, and there's both a Woolies and a Coles truck stuck here," she said.

"I think we've been hit in the backside by a rainbow.

"They let us take all this meat and it's been distributed all through the community in McKinlay and down to Kynuna."

A welcome break

Meanwhile, Don Patterson from Cassillis Station, 60 kilometres south of Richmond, said he was happy to welcome a small break from the rain over the weekend.

Mr Patterson said, up until Friday, he had recorded an incredible 305 millimetres of rain, but over the weekend saw only 10mm drop into the gauge.

"We're pretty happy, hey, and it firmed the ground up a little bit," he said.

"The stock can get around a little bit better. It's great."

Loading

Mr Patterson's block is black soil country, which means stock can easily get stuck in soggy ground.

He said the break from rain let the soil settle and sink down, making way for green grass to poke through.

"Once the sun comes out it should take off pretty quick because there's still a little bit of stubble in the ground," he said.

"It's a very good start to the year."

'A godsend'

Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell has watched his region go from breaking a Queensland heat record of consecutive days over 40C, to receiving more than 300mm of rain.

Our best stories in your inbox Subscribe to Rural RoundUp: Get our best stories from rural and regional Australia every Friday.

Cr Campbell has been stranded in Richmond, but said he had been kept busy talking to everyone at home.

"It's been a fantastic weather system over the weekend," Cr Campbell said.

"There's been anything from 200mm to 300mm around the shire.

"The dam is full, Lake Julius is flowing quite high — it's been a godsend."

Loading

The dam, which was sitting at 30 per cent, is now at 100 per cent, which Cr Campbell said was important not just for town water for commercial use, but for town morale.

"We're trying to save that water not just for commercial use, but for the barramundi fishing, the skiing, paddleboarding, and kayaking," he said.

Cr Campbell said there had been no major complications from the rain.

"The fantastic SES crew have tarped a couple of roofs … all our rural roads are closed at the moment, and all our highways south, east and north," he said.

"No doubt we'll have some road damage when we can get out and check."

Despite the infrastructure challenges to come, Cr Campbell said there was no doubt the weather event was incredibly positive.

"I'm sure once it does ease up and we get a week of sunshine, the spirits, especially of our graziers, will lift even more seeing those green shoots appear," he said.