Whanganui got some of the heaviest rain of the year on Tuesday - and it's needed to boost our water tables, Kauangaroa farmer Mike Cranstone says.
The weather station at Whanganui Airport recorded 23.6mm of rain that day, and 24mm was recorded at Cranstone's farm.
The subsoils there are still dry, he said, and the rain will soak in.
The heaviest falls were in the early afternoon, when 11.4mm fell in an hour.
Anything over 10mm an hour is considered heavy in an urban situation, MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said.