The Year in Rain & Snow
1961
97%
ran at 97% of normal — drier than usual — across 376 cities, the 72nd driest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1961
10.44in
Galveston, TX · Jun 18
Snowiest Station of 1961
293.4in
Yakutat, AK · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1961
Daily Rainfall Records Set
1,107
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1961 that still stand today
National Precipitation
97%
of the 1996–2025 average across 376 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1961 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.
65%J
119%F
117%M
90%A
88%M
93%J
109%J
118%A
109%S
72%O
118%N
96%D
Driest Stations & States
Driest Stations of 1961
| 1 | Bakersfield CA | 32% |
| 2 | Camarillo CA | 34% |
| 3 | Long Beach CA | 39% |
| 4 | Needles CA | 40% |
| 5 | Los Angeles Downtown CA | 41% |
| 6 | Los Angeles Airport CA | 42% |
| 7 | Riverside CA | 42% |
| 8 | Bishop CA | 43% |
| 9 | Lancaster CA | 44% |
| 10 | Santa Maria CA | 45% |
Wettest Stations of 1961
| 1 | Dubuque IA | 169% |
| 2 | Midland-Odessa TX | 165% |
| 3 | Delta Junction AK | 162% |
| 4 | Hattiesburg MS | 156% |
| 5 | Kansas City MO | 155% |
| 6 | Greenville MS | 151% |
| 7 | Pullman WA | 146% |
| 8 | Abilene TX | 145% |
| 9 | Galveston TX | 143% |
| 10 | Eugene OR | 140% |
By State
Wettest states of 1961
Mississippi132%Iowa126%Louisiana123%Colorado120%Alabama119%Oklahoma119%
Driest states of 1961
California66%North Dakota67%Florida77%Utah77%Nevada79%South Dakota82%
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