STACKER — Rain, sleet, snow, hail, wintry mix. Precipitation takes on many forms, and the degree to which climate change affects precipitation levels comes down to something almost everyone learns about in school—Earth’s water cycle. A system in endless motion, the water cycle traces the process through which water exists in its three primary phases—liquid, solid, and gas—as it moves perpetually between the Earth and its atmosphere.
Increases in precipitation frequency and intensity are markers of climate change. When temperatures rise and oceans grow warmer, the amount of water that evaporates into the atmosphere—and the speed at which it does so—also increases. As atmospheric circulation carries the moisture-rich air over land or pushes it into a storm system, heavy rain or snow is often the result.
The continental U.S. on average received about 30 inches of precipitation between March 2022 and February 2023. Traditionally “wet” regions—such as Washington state and Alaska in the northwest and Georgia and Mississippi in the southeast—continue to have some of the rainiest counties in the United States. Other areas such as Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, as well as pockets of the South and of California, experience the opposite extreme: drought, also largely a product of climate change.
Stacker cited data from the National Centers for Environmental Information to identify the counties in North Dakota that receive the most precipitation through rain, sleet, or snow. Counties are ranked by five-year precipitation averages in inches as of February 2023 with rainfall over the past year serving as a tiebreaker. Supplementary data on how last year’s precipitation compares to the 100-year average for the area is also included.
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#50. McKenzie County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.04 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 18.09 inches (#100 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.87 inches above norm
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#49. Bowman County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.33 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 14.71 inches (#63 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.16 inches below norm
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#48. Ward County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.48 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.88 inches (#73 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.43 inches above norm
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#47. Pierce County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.57 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 15.04 inches (#38 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.64 inches below norm
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#46. Slope County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.62 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 15.76 inches (#72 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.36 inches above norm
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#45. Rolette County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.73 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.90 inches (#54 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.69 inches below norm
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#44. McHenry County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.74 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 15.44 inches (#45 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.91 inches below norm
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#43. Renville County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.75 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.11 inches (#80 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.01 inches above norm
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#42. Billings County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.78 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 18.74 inches (#105 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.32 inches above norm
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#41. Benson County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.81 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.42 inches (#49 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.75 inches below norm
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#40. Towner County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.82 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.77 inches (#69 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.06 inches below norm
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#39. Golden Valley County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.83 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.87 inches (#103 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.01 inches above norm
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#38. Bottineau County
– Five-year precipitation average: 15.91 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.25 inches (#61 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.06 inches below norm
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#37. Oliver County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.16 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.22 inches (#67 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.47 inches above norm
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#36. Wells County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.22 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 15.41 inches (#35 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.41 inches below norm
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#35. Mountrail County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.27 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 19.04 inches (#103 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.07 inches above norm
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#34. McLean County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.33 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.02 inches (#70 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.73 inches above norm
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#33. Stark County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.38 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 18.02 inches (#86 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.55 inches above norm
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#32. Hettinger County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.39 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.49 inches (#71 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.10 inches above norm
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#31. Mercer County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.41 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.51 inches (#68 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.29 inches above norm
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#30. Burke County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.66 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 19.92 inches (#105 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.61 inches above norm
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#29. Morton County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.66 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.33 inches (#73 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.76 inches above norm
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#28. Dunn County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.66 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 18.71 inches (#88 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.22 inches above norm
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#27. Eddy County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.86 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.11 inches (#47 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.83 inches below norm
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#26. Grant County
– Five-year precipitation average: 16.91 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.87 inches (#66 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.17 inches above norm
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#25. Burleigh County
– Five-year precipitation average: 17.37 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.15 inches (#53 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.44 inches below norm
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#24. Foster County
– Five-year precipitation average: 17.41 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.18 inches (#52 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.14 inches below norm
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#23. Sheridan County
– Five-year precipitation average: 17.49 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.16 inches (#47 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.15 inches below norm
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#22. Ramsey County
– Five-year precipitation average: 17.65 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 19.75 inches (#93 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.32 inches above norm
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#21. Sioux County
– Five-year precipitation average: 17.87 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.07 inches (#50 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.77 inches below norm
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#20. Emmons County
– Five-year precipitation average: 18.26 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 16.51 inches (#55 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.59 inches below norm
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#19. Cavalier County
– Five-year precipitation average: 18.73 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 23.22 inches (#112 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 4.26 inches above norm
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#18. Kidder County
– Five-year precipitation average: 19.08 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 17.02 inches (#61 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.16 inches below norm
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#17. Pembina County
– Five-year precipitation average: 19.88 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 24.49 inches (#116 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 5.22 inches above norm
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#16. Stutsman County
– Five-year precipitation average: 19.98 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 19.35 inches (#76 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.87 inches above norm
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#15. Nelson County
– Five-year precipitation average: 20.14 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 22.44 inches (#107 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.82 inches above norm
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#14. Griggs County
– Five-year precipitation average: 20.18 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 20.36 inches (#83 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.48 inches above norm
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#13. Walsh County
– Five-year precipitation average: 20.40 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 23.58 inches (#115 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 4.97 inches above norm
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#12. Logan County
– Five-year precipitation average: 20.54 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 18.87 inches (#73 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.91 inches above norm
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#11. McIntosh County
– Five-year precipitation average: 20.82 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 19.94 inches (#84 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.76 inches above norm
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#10. Steele County
– Five-year precipitation average: 21.32 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 22.69 inches (#103 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.46 inches above norm
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#9. Grand Forks County
– Five-year precipitation average: 21.84 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 22.81 inches (#104 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.50 inches above norm
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#8. Traill County
– Five-year precipitation average: 22.38 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 22.79 inches (#94 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.92 inches above norm
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#7. Barnes County
– Five-year precipitation average: 22.39 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 21.69 inches (#93 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.05 inches above norm
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#6. Cass County
– Five-year precipitation average: 22.46 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 21.68 inches (#82 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.47 inches above norm
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#5. Ransom County
– Five-year precipitation average: 23.22 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 22.64 inches (#86 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.18 inches above norm
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#4. Sargent County
– Five-year precipitation average: 23.27 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 21.12 inches (#69 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.55 inches above norm
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#3. Richland County
– Five-year precipitation average: 23.51 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 21.29 inches (#61 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.12 inches above norm
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#2. LaMoure County
– Five-year precipitation average: 23.77 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 23.14 inches (#99 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.46 inches above norm
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#1. Dickey County
– Five-year precipitation average: 24.30 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 23.83 inches (#99 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.62 inches above norm
This article originally appeared on Stacker and was produced and distributed through a partnership with Stacker Studio. This article has been republished pursuant to a CC by NC 4.0 License.
