After weeks - and for many in some parts of Australia, months - of unrelenting, disastrous fires though there can be no guilt in embracing a bit of good news.

No doubt many farm dams will be filled and paddocks of dust rendered usable for pasture growth.

But we know also that this mid-summer rain - far more unseasonable in south-eastern Australia than normal runs of dry, hot weather - is posing a new set of risks.

For the various fire grounds there is the dangerous run-off and even localised flash-flooding capable of creating any more damage to the charred landscape, including tree falls and landslips.

It is why firefighters were pulled from these areas ahead of the sweep of wet weather.

There are other dangers, too. For one, it has been so dry for so long that it can be easy to get out of the knack of driving in the wet.

This is even more hazardous with the oily residue on roads from the lack of cleansing rains.

But the rain is at least a sign of something better, more positive, of what the Bureau of Meteorology recently predicted would be cooler, wetter weather patterns due to the collapse of the postive Indian Ocean Dipole.

This had restricted the amount of moisture over the continent in 2019; in effect, causing below average rain and above average temperatures in large parts of the country.

Even if the weather pattern switch turns out to be true, we cannot lose sight of the fact that this drought has sharply depleted our water reserves.

While the situation is not yet as dire as during the Millenium drought when Lake Hume, for example, was almost totally drained, we have a long way to go before our reservoirs reach anything close to average capacities.

This means we must continue to use water as wisely as possible - regardless of whether restrictions are in place or not.