Yesterday a light drizzle fell on parts of the region, increasing overnight with showers expected to become heavy for periods today.
Rainfall was expected to be lighter around the coast, with the highest levels in Northern Hawke's Bay, where Ms Murray said 10ml was expected.
This amount could have fallen overnight on some places in Central Hawke's Bay, while other areas could expect 5ml or less.
Temperatures were also expected to cool, with highs around 20C for the rest of the week.
Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers Association president Lesley Wilson said growers would welcome this week's rain, and were "looking forward to the 20ml promised".
Because growers were reliant on irrigation during such dry conditions, she hoped the rain would boost river levels, particularly the Ngaruroro River.
Yesterday the Hawke's Bay Regional Council stated the region "desperately" needed forecast rain, with water-take bans increasing to 40.
The Waipawa River came under a total ban on Sunday, February 5, with the Ngaruroro River at Fernhill following suit as of 5pm yesterday.
"While short-lived, any rainfall will be a welcome respite to very dry ground and potentially bolster the region's rivers before the sun returns on Friday."
However Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president Will Foley said accumulated rainfall this month was "too little, too late" for farmers, unless followed by regular and consistent rainfall.
While they were coping "reasonably well" with dry conditions, farmers had their fingers crossed for rain at the end of the month to "get pastures going again, and set us up for winter".
The biggest issue for farmers now was water availability, he said, citing dry dams, struggling pumps, or springs drying up.
At a Hawke's Bay Regional Council climate briefing last week it was reported groundwater, and soil moisture levels, in some parts of the region were at record low levels for January.
Mr Foley said there had not been a call for drought, however, "in terms of measures around rainfall, river flows, bore levels, conditions are as bad as they get ... in terms of droughts gone past".
With indicators pointing to the region becoming "as dry as we're ever been before", farmers needed to expect a hot, dry month.
"A drought will come if these conditions persist any longer than the end of February basically," he said.
The wine industry appears to be the only sector not hoping for rain.
Hawke's Bay Winegrowers Association vice-chairman Xan Harding said "optimal growing conditions" this summer meant the industry stood to have another great vintage.
Rain would not threaten this, but it was "better that we get it out of the way now, than have it at the end of March", he said.