Everyone is overly grateful for the deluge, but how much they got in the rain gauge is another matter.

The storms on Friday and over the weekend were so sporadic that farms just 15 kilometres apart had very different results.

A farm in Seaham scored 80 millimetres while one at Clarence Town only received 4mm.

Meanwhile a farm at Hinton had 40mm and one at Oakhampton had 30.

"We're in an extreme weather event, I think patchy rain is a sign of dry times," Oakhampton farmer Austin Breiner said.

Rain in western NSW saw us put in a call to father and son duo Brian and Fletcher Giddings who live on a livestock property near Wellington.

We've been following their story for almost two years.

They had been dreaming of seeing their paddocks inundated with water. They envisioned their tanks brimming with water and their dams full with precious nourishment for their cattle.

But after three years of waiting they were beginning to wonder if it would ever happen.

And then just like that a storm paused over their parched fields and the sky exploded with 25 millimetres of soaking rain.

"I don't think I have ever been so god dam happy in my life," Brian said.

"We finally got under a storm ... very heavy rain and lots of run off.

"It's a long way back yet but we have water in our dams, and our water tank that's been dry to our house for five months is full.

"I pray this is the beginning to the end."

But not long after those optimistic words the farm took a turn for the worst.

A violent storm with very strong winds dropped another 30 millimetres of rain in half an hour, causing a flash flood.

Brian went out with the spotlight to look for his cattle but could not find them.

When daylight returned he realised the damage was widespread.

Eighteen calves had died, fences had been washed away and farm equipment was left damaged. The roof of the family home was another casualty.

Then, one of the worst dust storms the Giddings family have ever seen arrived.

It brought topsoil from farms to the west and reduced visibility.

"I've never seen anything like it," Brian said.

The family was forced to sell all of their sheep last year, which signalled the first time in the farm's 142-year history that they did not have any on their property.

They've been battling to keep their cattle alive so they have something to rebuild with when the drought breaks.