The Year in Rain & Snow
1889
99%
ran at 99% of normal — drier than usual — across 100 cities, the 95th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1889
7.84in
College Station, TX · Sep 4
Snowiest Station of 1889
87.2in
Green Bay, WI · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1889
Daily Rainfall Records Set
262
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1889 that still stand today
National Precipitation
99%
of the 1996–2025 average across 100 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1889 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.
134%J
102%F
87%M
80%A
102%M
107%J
111%J
85%A
103%S
93%O
131%N
70%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1889
| 1 | Minneapolis-St Paul MN | 54% |
| 2 | Madison WI | 55% |
| 3 | Bismarck ND | 58% |
| 4 | Helena MT | 60% |
| 5 | Detroit MI | 61% |
| 6 | Toledo OH | 61% |
| 7 | Dubuque IA | 65% |
| 8 | Cincinnati OH | 67% |
| 9 | Winnemucca NV | 67% |
| 10 | Columbus OH | 68% |
Wettest Stations of 1889
| 1 | Los Angeles Downtown CA | 235% |
| 2 | San Diego CA | 177% |
| 3 | Sacramento CA | 155% |
| 4 | Richmond VA | 155% |
| 5 | Trenton NJ | 145% |
| 6 | Washington DC | 145% |
| 7 | Norfolk VA | 143% |
| 8 | Corpus Christi TX | 138% |
| 9 | Baltimore MD | 137% |
| 10 | Reading PA | 133% |
By State
Wettest states of 1889
California159%Virginia149%District of Columbia145%Maryland137%Utah121%New Jersey117%
Driest states of 1889
North Dakota65%Nevada67%Ohio69%Iowa69%Montana73%Kentucky75%
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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