From 4 inches of rain in the Rangeley area to under an inch in the Midcoast and southern regions of the state, the range of precipitation totals across Maine on Monday is having varying impacts on the ongoing drought.

“It’s very clear where people won and lost with this (weather) system,” Jon Palmer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gray, said in an interview Tuesday.

Western Maine saw the highest precipitation totals on Monday, with 3 inches or more in much of Oxford and Franklin counties.

That is enough to put a dent in the drought, Palmer said, at least in that region.

As of last week, a belt from Franklin County to Washington County was in extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, representing 34% of the state.

NWS reported last week that the state will need 150% of its normal rainfall — or 6 to 12 inches — in order to end the drought before the ground freezes this winter. When the ground freezes, rainfall won’t soak into the soil, preventing the needed replenishment of wells in the state.

Over 100 wells were reported to be dry in Oxford County this year, according to the Maine Drought Task Force. Just 14 wells were reported to have dried up across the entire state last year.

“It’s likely that we could see some minor improvements across Bethel, Rumford, Rangeley and the Oxford Hills areas where we saw those really high totals,” Palmer said.

And those areas are expected to get some more rain on Wednesday, bringing more relief.

“The next storm coming, that will certainly help improve things as well,” Palmer said.

However, the low totals on Monday across the rest of the state leave those areas in a “status quo” when it comes to the drought, Palmer said. Plus, Wednesday’s storm is expected to mirror its predecessor.

“The highest totals are most likely going to be where we saw those high totals (on Monday),” Palmer said. “Most areas shouldn’t see more than an inch of rain.”