Often we can use 'there' or 'it' and it doesn't change the meaning.
Here are some other examples:
- It was raining a lot.
- There was a lot of rain.
- It was very loud.
- There was a lot of noise.
You can use them interchangeably. It's more common to use 'there' in creative or descriptive writing for setting the scene. It's more common to use 'it' in personal blogs, diary entries and texts where the writer is more important to the reader.