Some rain could be on the way later this week to a part of the country that desperately needs it.

By Bill Deger, Meteorologist

Sep 12, 2011; 3:11 AM ET

Much of southern Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas, mired in one of the worst droughts in decades, stands to be the beneficiary of moisture from a developing midweek storm system.

The rain, expected to develop over the Front Range of the Rockies Wednesday, will expand south and east along a stalled out frontal boundary across the Plains Wednesday night into Thursday. This same front will also send cooler air south across the country.

How much rain falls will ultimately depend on the positioning of the front and the amount of moisture that works its way into the system.

As it stands now, residents across southern Kansas, Oklahoma, eastern New Mexico, and a portion of Texas comprising the panhandle and the Rio Grande Valley, stand the best chance to see possibly more than a half inch of liquid from Mother Nature.

There is a chance that if the rain and any thunderstorms continue off and on for a few days, that some areas could see more than an inch of rain by the weekend.

The most severe ranking of drought conditions, D4 (exceptional), continues across much the southern Plains. (U.S. Drought Monitor)

Such rainfall totals, while temporarily helpful to the parched soil, will probably not do much to put a sizable dent in the astronomical rainfall deficits faced across the region.

Included in this rainy zone for later in the week will be Springer, N.M., Amarillo, Texas, Dodge City, Kan., and Oklahoma City, Okla.

Unfortunately, for areas farther south across much of central and southern Texas, the chances for rainfall from this storm system look rather bleak.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the southern Plains remains locked in an ‘exceptional drought.’

Rainfall is sorely needed for firefighters still dealing with wildfires that have charred nearly 3 million acres of the Lone Star State, according to meteorologist Meghan Evans.