THE return of the monsoon trough may be a few weeks away, but widespread showers gave the Far North a timely saturation over the weekend.

The southern half of the region received most of the downpour with Innisfail recording 58mm overnight on Saturday while Tully had 55mm on Friday night.

But Cairns duty forecaster Gordon Banks said this was merely a taste of what was to come.

"By the end of February the monsoon should become more active again and then we'll probably see some heavy falls," he said.

He said an easterly flow combined with a weak upper trough had been the impetus behind the weekend's soaking and while today was expected to be drier, the region could be in for some more heavy showers tomorrow.

Cairns received its share of the wet weather with the airport getting 26mm and Copperlode Dam receiving 35mm.

Just outside the city Mt Sheridan was in the midst of the action with 44.8mm and Gordonvale got 43mm.

However, the Tableland remained mostly dry and Queensland Fire and Rescue rural operations manager Bruno Greimel warned the region is still facing fire danger. "It's really starting to dry up again," he said.

"There were a couple of smaller fires last week. It's a bit unseasonable at the moment."

He said it was a timely reminder to Tableland residents to remain vigilant despite the fire season normally being over by now.

"It's a bit of a dry pocket at the moment and until we get some decent rain it will stay that way," he said.

This week's temperatures:

Monday: 31c

Tuesday: 31c

Wednesday: 32c:

Thursday: 31c

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