There have been only a few times over the years where I was hoping to deliver the news of a soaking summer rain — this week is one of those times. The parched landscape and drying wells across southern and central Maine have turned even the most sun-loving Mainer into someone wishing for rain. After a rocky stretch of trying to figure out the track of this midweek storm, it appears we now have that soaking rain just hours away. Low pressure will move into the Gulf of Maine Wednesday evening with rain, wind and some rough seas. A gale warning has been issued for the waters south of Cape Elizabeth, a small craft advisory has been issued for Casco Bay north through Thursday morning due to building seas and gusty wind.Wednesday will start with clouds and some rain showers. Steadier rain arrives through the afternoon and continues overnight into Thursday morning. Lingering showers Thursday afternoon will give way to some sunny breaks before sunset. One to two inches of rain can be expected across most of southern, central and eastern Maine. There will be some spots that receive more than two inches, higher totals are likely along the coastline and also in some of the more hilly areas. While rising rivers and streams will likely not be a concern, especially due to the dry conditions leading up to this round of rain, some urban and street flooding will be possible with downpours Wednesday night. Winds will pick up out of the north to northeast during the day Wednesday. Gusts of 30 to 35 mph are possible. The strongest gusts will be Wednesday afternoon and evening. Breezy conditions will last into Thursday, however, gusts will be 15 to 20 mph.Right now Portland is seeing a near-record dry summer, but this storm will help adjust that. Currently, the city is experiencing the second driest meteorological summer on record (meteorological summer runs from June 1 - Aug. 31, for record-keeping purposes) with just 4.16 inches of rain recorded as of Aug. 16. If we can manage to get more than 2.05 inches of rain before the end of August, we will have risen out of the top ten driest summers (1940 - present). When the Drought Monitor is issued this Thursday, you can expect little to no improvement as the data cutoff for the drought monitor maps is each Tuesday at 8 a.m. However, the rain we receive in the middle of the week will impact the Drought Monitor update next week, to be issued on Aug. 25.