The Year in Rain & Snow
1873
102%
ran at 102% of normal — wetter than usual — across 46 cities, the 111th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1873
5.4in
Mount Ida, AR · Sep 29
Snowiest Station of 1873
139.2in
Rochester, NY · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1873
Daily Rainfall Records Set
124
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1873 that still stand today
National Precipitation
102%
of the 1996–2025 average across 46 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1873 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.
116%J
103%F
80%M
84%A
113%M
90%J
105%J
160%A
88%S
104%O
110%N
108%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1873
| 1 | Cheyenne WY | 67% |
| 2 | La Crosse WI | 67% |
| 3 | Moline IL | 75% |
| 4 | Madison WI | 75% |
| 5 | Portland ME | 76% |
| 6 | Key West FL | 82% |
| 7 | Asheville NC | 83% |
| 8 | Concord NH | 84% |
| 9 | Denver CO | 84% |
| 10 | Lexington KY | 86% |
Wettest Stations of 1873
| 1 | San Diego CA | 144% |
| 2 | Rochester NY | 140% |
| 3 | Galveston TX | 131% |
| 4 | Duluth MN | 129% |
| 5 | Montgomery AL | 128% |
| 6 | Reading PA | 126% |
| 7 | Boston MA | 125% |
| 8 | Philadelphia PA | 124% |
| 9 | Indianapolis IN | 121% |
| 10 | Morgantown WV | 116% |
By State
Wettest states of 1873
California144%Texas131%Massachusetts125%Indiana121%Minnesota120%Pennsylvania118%
Driest states of 1873
Wyoming67%Maine76%Wisconsin77%New Hampshire84%Colorado84%Kentucky86%
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