The Year in Rain & Snow
1888
100%
ran at 100% of normal — wetter than usual — across 91 cities, the 104th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1888
6.4in
Galveston, TX · Jun 17
Snowiest Station of 1888
110.3in
Green Bay, WI · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1888
Daily Rainfall Records Set
219
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1888 that still stand today
National Precipitation
100%
of the 1996–2025 average across 91 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1888 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.
107%J
103%F
128%M
71%A
107%M
103%J
78%J
120%A
95%S
107%O
128%N
87%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1888
| 1 | Winnemucca NV | 57% |
| 2 | Madison WI | 63% |
| 3 | Denver CO | 68% |
| 4 | Milwaukee WI | 68% |
| 5 | Fargo ND | 69% |
| 6 | Toledo OH | 72% |
| 7 | Erie PA | 73% |
| 8 | Kalamazoo MI | 74% |
| 9 | Cincinnati OH | 75% |
| 10 | Huron SD | 75% |
Wettest Stations of 1888
| 1 | Yuma AZ | 165% |
| 2 | Corpus Christi TX | 161% |
| 3 | Galveston TX | 147% |
| 4 | Los Angeles Downtown CA | 147% |
| 5 | Trenton NJ | 140% |
| 6 | San Antonio TX | 135% |
| 7 | Atlanta GA | 131% |
| 8 | San Diego CA | 128% |
| 9 | Abilene TX | 125% |
| 10 | Portland ME | 123% |
By State
Wettest states of 1888
Arizona165%Texas134%Maine123%New Hampshire121%New Jersey120%Georgia118%
Driest states of 1888
Nevada57%Colorado68%South Dakota75%North Dakota76%Ohio77%Michigan79%
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