The Year in Rain & Snow
1939
87%
ran at 87% of normal — drier than usual — across 305 cities, the 10th driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1939
7.06in
Galveston, TX · Jul 11
Snowiest Station of 1939
115.5in
Talkeetna, AK · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1939
Daily Rainfall Records Set
787
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1939 that still stand today
National Precipitation
87%
of the 1996–2025 average across 305 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1939 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.
124%J
140%F
82%M
89%A
72%M
102%J
94%J
94%A
127%S
70%O
45%N
68%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1939
| 1 | Colorado Springs CO | 38% |
| 2 | Fargo ND | 47% |
| 3 | Sacramento CA | 48% |
| 4 | Barrow AK | 50% |
| 5 | Burley ID | 51% |
| 6 | Denver CO | 54% |
| 7 | Jerome ID | 54% |
| 8 | Lake Charles LA | 54% |
| 9 | Burns OR | 55% |
| 10 | Pocatello ID | 55% |
Wettest Stations of 1939
| 1 | Needles CA | 344% |
| 2 | Yuma AZ | 235% |
| 3 | Las Vegas NV | 189% |
| 4 | Homer AK | 151% |
| 5 | Phoenix AZ | 148% |
| 6 | Pine Bluff AR | 135% |
| 7 | Muscle Shoals AL | 134% |
| 8 | Palmdale CA | 129% |
| 9 | Tallahassee FL | 125% |
| 10 | Yakutat AK | 124% |
By State
Wettest states of 1939
Arizona123%Nevada109%Alabama104%North Carolina103%Georgia101%New Mexico100%
Driest states of 1939
Utah61%Idaho63%Colorado66%Nebraska67%Rhode Island70%Louisiana71%
DriestSince · browse by state · precipitation & snowfall records · NOAA/RCC-ACIS ThreadEx gauge record · part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers
© 2026 Weather Trader · All rights reserved
© 2026 Weather Trader · All rights reserved