Uluru rainfall inches towards record

It wasn't quite a May record at Uluru but three days of heavy rain have still caused waterfalls to flow on the iconic rock.

A heavy cloud band has been sitting across central Australia since Thursday night, dumping some welcome rain after a below-average wet season for the Northern Territory.

On Saturday Yulara received 39mm of rain in one day, bringing the three-day total to 70.6mm, inching towards the May monthly record of 109.6mm set in 1988. The May monthly average at the rock is a mere 13mm.

Motorists driving towards Uluru from Alice Springs had to contend with several flooded sections of road, and part of the Lasseter Highway between Erldunda and Kings Canyon was closed for a period on Saturday evening.

Big dumps of rain happen every now and again in central Australia as it receives cooler southern cloud fronts, said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sally Cutter.

"Someone should have kept that cloud over there a little bit longer" to break records, she told AAP on Sunday.

"We'll need a bit of time to see what happens with wildflowers (blossoming) ... The rainfall will be welcome in that area," she said.

From Sunday morning the cloud was beginning to lift at Yulara and the cloud will contract north later in the day.