The Year in Rain & Snow
1878
105%
ran at 105% of normal — wetter than usual — across 62 cities, the 136th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1878
5.92in
Little Rock, AR · Apr 19
Snowiest Station of 1878
91.6in
Rochester, NY · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1878
Daily Rainfall Records Set
181
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1878 that still stand today
National Precipitation
105%
of the 1996–2025 average across 62 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1878 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.
120%J
103%F
104%M
114%A
100%M
109%J
110%J
104%A
100%S
93%O
92%N
112%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1878
| 1 | Yuma AZ | 26% |
| 2 | Minneapolis-St Paul MN | 73% |
| 3 | Boise ID | 75% |
| 4 | Philadelphia PA | 77% |
| 5 | Winnemucca NV | 79% |
| 6 | Dodge City KS | 80% |
| 7 | Portland ME | 80% |
| 8 | Reading PA | 80% |
| 9 | Mount Ida AR | 83% |
| 10 | Moline IL | 84% |
Wettest Stations of 1878
| 1 | San Diego CA | 153% |
| 2 | Boston MA | 150% |
| 3 | Buffalo NY | 149% |
| 4 | Los Angeles Downtown CA | 148% |
| 5 | Washington DC | 142% |
| 6 | Rochester NY | 137% |
| 7 | Galveston TX | 136% |
| 8 | Sacramento CA | 132% |
| 9 | Brownsville TX | 132% |
| 10 | Salt Lake City UT | 129% |
By State
Wettest states of 1878
Massachusetts150%California144%District of Columbia142%Texas134%Utah129%New York125%
Driest states of 1878
Arizona26%Idaho75%Nevada79%Kansas80%Maine80%Minnesota82%
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