The Year in Rain & Snow
1872
90%
ran at 90% of normal — drier than usual — across 41 cities, the 19th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1872
8.57in
Savannah, GA · Aug 5
Snowiest Station of 1872
92.0in
Concord, NH · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1872
Daily Rainfall Records Set
79
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1872 that still stand today
National Precipitation
90%
of the 1996–2025 average across 41 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1872 precipitation as a percent of its 1996–2025 normal — brown where the year ran dry, green-to-blue where it ran wet.
Month by Month
Precipitation by month as a percent of normal — blue above the line is a wet month, amber below is dry.
61%J
75%F
94%M
78%A
87%M
91%J
116%J
111%A
105%S
78%O
85%N
72%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1872
| 1 | San Diego CA | 56% |
| 2 | Madison WI | 61% |
| 3 | Asheville NC | 66% |
| 4 | Cincinnati OH | 75% |
| 5 | Milwaukee WI | 76% |
| 6 | Portland ME | 76% |
| 7 | Buffalo NY | 77% |
| 8 | Baltimore MD | 77% |
| 9 | Washington DC | 77% |
| 10 | Toledo OH | 77% |
Wettest Stations of 1872
| 1 | Savannah GA | 139% |
| 2 | Augusta GA | 125% |
| 3 | Denver CO | 123% |
| 4 | Boston MA | 115% |
| 5 | Jacksonville FL | 109% |
| 6 | Philadelphia PA | 108% |
| 7 | Omaha NE | 105% |
| 8 | Concord NH | 105% |
| 9 | Mobile AL | 104% |
| 10 | Rochester NY | 102% |
By State
Wettest states of 1872
Georgia132%Colorado123%Massachusetts115%New Hampshire105%Nebraska105%Alabama104%
Driest states of 1872
California56%Wisconsin68%Maine76%Maryland77%District of Columbia77%Ohio78%
DriestSince · browse by state · precipitation & snowfall records · NOAA/RCC-ACIS ThreadEx gauge record · part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers
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© 2026 Weather Trader · All rights reserved