In 2024, the United States saw some 31.6 inches of precipitation. The main forms of precipitation include hail, drizzle, rain, sleet, and snow. Since the turn of the century, 2012 was the driest year on record with an annual precipitation of 27.5 inches. Regional disparities in rainfall Louisiana emerged as the wettest state in the U.S. in 2024, recording a staggering 71.25 inches (1.8 meters) of precipitation—nearly 14.4 inches (ca. 37 centimeters) above its historical average. In stark contrast, Nevada received only 9.53 inches (ca. 24 centimeters), underscoring the vast differences in rainfall across the nation. These extremes illustrate the uneven distribution of precipitation, with the southwestern states experiencing increasingly dry conditions that experts predict will worsen in the coming years. Drought concerns persist Drought remains a significant concern in many parts of the country. The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for the contiguous United States stood at -3.39 in December 2024, indicating moderate to severe drought conditions. This reading follows three years of generally negative PDSI values, with the most extreme drought recorded in December 2023 at -3.93.

In 2024, Louisiana recorded 71.25 inches of precipitation. This was the highest precipitation within the 48 contiguous U.S. states that year. On the other hand, Nevada was the driest state, with only 9.53 inches of precipitation recorded. Precipitation across the United States Not only did Louisiana record the largest precipitation volume in 2024, but it also registered the highest precipitation anomaly that year, around 14.36 inches above the 1901-2000 annual average. In fact, over the last decade, rainfall across the United States was generally higher than the average recorded for the 20th century. Meanwhile, the driest states were located in the country's southwestern region, an area which – according to experts – will become even drier and warmer in the future. How does global warming affect precipitation patterns? Rising temperatures on Earth lead to increased evaporation which – ultimately – results in more precipitation. Since 1900, the volume of precipitation in the United States has increased at an average rate of 0.20 inches per decade. Nevertheless, the effects of climate change on precipitation can vary depending on the location. For instance, climate change can alter wind patterns and ocean currents, causing certain areas to experience reduced precipitation. Furthermore, even if precipitation increases, it does not necessarily increase the water availability for human consumption, which might eventually lead to drought conditions.

This graph shows the average monthly precipitation in Germany from February 2024 to February 2025. In February 2025, the average precipitation amounted to 24 liters per square meter, an increase compared to the previous month. The rainiest state in Germany was Saarland.

Contained within the 3rd Edition (1957) of the Atlas of Canada is a plate that shows two maps for the annual total precipitation. Annual precipitation is defined as the sum of rainfall and the assumed water equivalent of snowfall for a given year. A specific gravity of 0.1 for freshly fallen snow is used, which means that ten inches (25.4 cm) of freshly fallen snow is assumed to be equal to one inch (2.54 cm) of rain. The mean annual total precipitation and snowfall maps on this plate are primarily based on thirty-year data during the period 1921 to 1950 inclusive.

Average rainfall in Spain amounted to some 536.6 millimeters in 2023. During the period in consideration, Spain's wettest year was 2018, when the average precipitation reached a record high of 808 millimeters. Since then, rainfall in the Mediterranean country has seen a continual annual decline.

The North America climate data were derived from WorldClim, a set of global climate layers developed by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in collaboration with The International Center for Tropical Agriculture and Rainforest CRC with support from NatureServe.The global climate data layers were generated through interpolation of average monthly climate data from weather stations across North America. The result is a 30-arc-second-resolution (1-Km) grid of mean temperature values. The North American data were clipped from the global data and reprojected to a Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection. Background information on the WorldClim database is available in: Very High-Resolution Interpolated Climate Surfaces for Global Land Areas; Hijmans, R.J., S.E. Cameron, J.L. Parra, P.G. Jones and A. Jarvis; International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965-1978; 2005.Files Download

Precipitation in Romania increased to 626.52 mm in 2023 from 508.35 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Romania Average Precipitation.

Precipitation in China increased to 606.89 mm in 2023 from 599.86 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for China Average Precipitation.

This map is part of a series of global climate images produced by the Agrometeorology Group and based on data for mean monthly values of temperature, precipitation and cloudiness prepared in 1991 by R. Leemans and W. Cramer and published by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). For each of the weather stations used data have been assembled over a long time period - usually between 1961 and 1990 - and then averaged. Annual totals for rainfall were derived from the monthly values.

The National Forest Climate Change Maps project was developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and the Office of Sustainability and Climate to meet the needs of national forest managers for information on projected climate changes at a scale relevant to decision making processes, including forest plans. The maps use state-of-the-art science and are available for every national forest in the contiguous United States with relevant data coverage. Currently, the map sets include variables related to precipitation, air temperature, snow (including snow residence time and April 1 snow water equivalent), and stream flow.Historical (1975-2005) and future (2071-2090) precipitation and temperature data for the contiguous United States are ensemble mean values across 20 global climate models from the CMIP5 experiment (https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00094.1), downscaled to a 4 km grid. For more information on the downscaling method and to access the data, please see Abatzoglou and Brown, 2012 (https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/joc.2312) and the Northwest Knowledge Network (https://climate.northwestknowledge.net/MACA/). We used the MACAv2- Metdata monthly dataset; monthly precipitation values (mm) were summed over the season of interest (annual, winter, or summer). Absolute and percent change were then calculated between the historical and future time periods.Raster data are also available for download from RMRS site (https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/boise/AWAE/projects/NFS-regional-climate-change-maps/categories/us-raster-layers.html), along with pdf maps and detailed metadata (https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/boise/AWAE/projects/NFS-regional-climate-change-maps/downloads/NationalForestClimateChangeMapsMetadata.pdf).

PRISM is an analytical model that uses point data and an underlying grid such as a digital elevation model (DEM) or a 30 yr climatological average (e.g. 1971- 2000 average) to generate gridded estimates of monthly and annual precipitation and temperature (as well as other climatic parameters). 800m spacing. In the Smokies, the average annual rainfall varies from approximately 55 inches in the valleys to over 85 inches on some peaks-more than anywhere else in the country except the Pacific Northwest, qualifying these upper elevation areas as temperate rain forests. During wet years, over eight feet of rain falls in the high country. The relative humidity in the park during the growing season is about twice that of the Rocky Mountain region. The broad range of elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains (<1000 to 6642 ft asl) contributes to the wide variety of climates therein. At the lower elevations (ca. 1000 ft) the climate is humid mesothermal with precipitation distributed throughout the year. At the uppermost elevations, which are among the highest attained in the Appalachian chain, the relatively cool, wet climate is perhumid microthermal. It supports evergreen coniferous forest vegetation rather than the deciduous forest vegetation typical of lower elevations. Total annual precipitation in the high-elevation coniferous forests rivals that of some of the wettest regions of the United States.

This dataset contains 30-year rolling average of annual average precipitation across all four models and two greenhouse gas (RCP) scenarios in the four model ensemble. The year identified for a 30 year rolling average is the mid-point of the 30-year average. eg. The year 2050 includes the values from 2036 to 2065.

The downscaling and selection of models for inclusion in ten and four model ensembles is described in 'https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-11/Projections_CCCA4-CEC-2018-006_ADA.pdf#page=11' rel='nofollow ugc'>Pierce et al. 2018, but summarized here. Thirty two global climate models (GCMs) were identified to meet the modeling requirements. From those, ten that closely simulate California’s climate were selected for additional analysis ('https://www.energy.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2019-11/Projections_CCCA4-CEC-2018-006_ADA.pdf#page=11' rel='nofollow ugc'>Table 1, Pierce et al. 2018) and to form a ten model ensemble. From the ten model ensemble, four models, forming a four model ensemble, were identified to provide coverage of the range of potential climate outcomes in California. The models in the four model ensemble and their general climate projection for California are:

• HadGEM2-ES (warm/dry),
• CanESM2 (average),
• CNRM-CM5 (cooler/wetter),
• and MIROC5 the model least like the others to improve coverage of the range of outcomes.

These data were downloaded from Cal-Adapt and prepared for use within CA Nature by California Natural Resource Agency and ESRI staff.

Cal-Adapt. (2018). LOCA Derived Data [GeoTIFF]. Data derived from LOCA Downscaled CMIP5 Climate Projections. Cal-Adapt website developed by University of California at Berkeley’s Geospatial Innovation Facility under contract with the California Energy Commission. Retrieved from https://cal-adapt.org/

Pierce, D. W., J. F. Kalansky, and D. R. Cayan, (Scripps Institution of Oceanography). 2018. Climate, Drought, and Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the Fourth California Climate Assessment. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, California Energy Commission. Publication Number: CNRA-CEC-2018-006.

"Annual rainfall is the total accumulated rain over one year. Rain is vital for life, including plant growth, drinking water, river ecosystem health, and sanitation. Floods and droughts affect our environment, economy, and recreational opportunities.

This dataset shows annual average rainfall across New Zealand for 2008 as part of the data series for years 1972 to 2013. Annual rainfall is estimated from the daily rainfall estimates of the Virtual Climate Station Network (NIWA).

This dataset relates to the "Annual average rainfall" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Geometry: grid Unit: mm/yr"

In 2023, the annual average rainfall in Japan amounted to around 1.58 thousand millimeters. Figures increased compared to about 1.54 thousand millimeters in the previous year. Most of the rain fell during the rainy season, which is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Seasonal rainfall In most of Japan, the rainy season lasts from early June to mid-July. In the southernmost prefecture Okinawa, it roughly starts a month earlier, while the northernmost main island Hokkaido is less affected. Heavy rainfall can cause floods, which can lead to landslides and mudflows in mountainous areas. In recent years, flooded houses accounted for the highest number of damage situations in natural disasters. Furthermore, heavy rain and floods are often caused by typhoons, which develop over the Pacific Ocean and regularly approach the archipelago between July and October. Since the number of typhoons has increased in recent years, the amount of damage caused by floods grew as well. Climate change Climate change has affected Japan in recent years, resulting in increased rainfall and an increase of the average annual temperature in Tokyo. These weather changes can intensify natural disasters such as heavy rain and typhoons. In recent years, Japan was among the countries with the most natural disasters. To counter global warming, Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing its renewable and nuclear energy share.

Precipitation in Iran increased to 204.20 mm in 2023 from 183.75 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Iran Average Precipitation.

Precipitation in Israel decreased to 334.33 mm in 2023 from 337.49 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Israel Average Precipitation.

[Metadata] Mean Annual Rainfall Isohyets in Millimeters for the Islands of Hawai‘i, Kaho‘olawe, Kaua‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i and O‘ahu. Source: 2011 Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii, https://rainfall.geography.hawaii.edu/. Note that Moloka‘I data/maps were updated in 2014. Please see Rainfall Atlas final report appendix for full method details: https://rainfall.geography.hawaii.edu/downloads.html. Statewide GIS program staff downloaded data from UH Geography Department, Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii, February, 2019. Annual and monthly isohyets of mean rainfall were available for download. The statewide GIS program makes available only the annual layer. Both the monthly layers and the original annual layer are available from the Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii website, referenced above. For additional information, please see metadata at https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/op/gis/data/isohyets.pdf or contact Hawaii Statewide GIS Program, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, State of Hawaii; PO Box 2359, Honolulu, Hi. 96804; (808) 587-2846; email: gis@hawaii.gov; Website: https://planning.hawaii.gov/gis.

Precipitation in Iraq increased to 191.01 mm in 2023 from 164.88 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Iraq Average Precipitation.

This data layer is an element of the Oregon GIS Framework. Monthly 30-year "normal" dataset covering Oregon, averaged over the climatological period 1991-2020. Contains spatially gridded average annual total precipitation at 800m (30 arc-second) grid cell resolution. Distribution of the point measurements to the spatial grid was accomplished using the PRISM model, developed and applied by Dr. Christopher Daly of the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University. This dataset is available free-of-charge on the PRISM website.

Precipitation in Mali decreased to 309.60 mm in 2023 from 383.68 mm in 2022. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Mali Average Precipitation.