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.

The accumulated rainfall chart with wide intervals will be updated for download starting from September 15, 2023. Please update before December 31, 2023 as the old links will expire after that. If you need to download a large amount of data, please apply for membership at the Meteorological Data Open Platform https://opendata.cwa.gov.tw/index.

Typical annual rainfall data were summarized from monthly precipitation data and provided in millimeters (mm). The monthly climate data for global land areas were generated from a large network of weather stations by the WorldClim project. Precipitation and temperature data were collected from the weather stations and aggregated across a target temporal range of 1970-2000.

Weather station data (between 9,000 and 60,000 stations) were interpolated using thin-plate splines with covariates including elevation, distance to the coast, and MODIS-derived minimum and maximum land surface temperature. Spatial interpolation was first done in 23 regions of varying size depending on station density, instead of the common approach to use a single model for the entire world. The satellite imagery data were most useful in areas with low station density. The interpolation technique allowed WorldClim to produce high spatial resolution (approximately 1 km2) raster data sets.

Hourly Precipitation Data (HPD) is digital data set DSI-3240, archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The primary source of data for this file is approximately 5,500 US National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and cooperative observer stations in the United States of America, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and various Pacific Islands. The earliest data dates vary considerably by state and region: Maine, Pennsylvania, and Texas have data since 1900. The western Pacific region that includes Guam, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau have data since 1978. Other states and regions have earliest dates between those extremes. The latest data in all states and regions is from the present day. The major parameter in DSI-3240 is precipitation amounts, which are measurements of hourly or daily precipitation accumulation. Accumulation was for longer periods of time if for any reason the rain gauge was out of service or no observer was present. DSI 3240_01 contains data grouped by state; DSI 3240_02 contains data grouped by year.

[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://www.hawaii.edu/climate-data-portal/rainfall-atlas. Note that Moloka‘I data/maps were updated in 2014. Please see Rainfall Atlas final report appendix for full method details: https://www.hawaii.edu/climate-data-portal/rainfall-atlas. 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. Note: Contour attribute value represents the amount of annual rainfall, in millimeters, for that line/isohyet. 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.

The Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) maintains collection sites throughout the city. Those collection sites are equipped with solar powered rain gauges on top of public buildings which log measurements of precipitation and which report data every five minutes. Here you find the link to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s interface to the rainfall data, which is updated continually. You can search for rainfall data going as far back as 1999, depending on the year of installation for the various gauges.

The plate contains four maps of 24 hour rainfalls (in millimetres) for a 2 year return period, a 5 year return period, a 10 year return period and a 25 year return period. Each map has a detailed inset of the Vancouver area. These four maps were not analyzed for the mountainous parts of Canada in British Columbia and the Yukon because of the limited number of stations, the non-representative nature of the valley stations and the variability of precipitation owing to the orographic effects. From the incomplete data, it is impossible to draw accurate isolines of short duration rainfall amounts on maps of national scale. Point values for all stations west of the Rocky Mountain range and in the Yukon have been plotted for durations of less than 24 hours. For the Vancouver metropolitan area, recording rain gauges have been in operation for several years. For some of these stations point rainfall data have been plotted on inset maps. The density of climatological stations varies widely as does population density. In general, the accuracy of the analysis increases with station density. North of latitude 55 degrees North, there are only five stations. Therefore, the isoline analyses represent extrapolations beyond the station values. Whenever sufficient data were available for interpretation, isolines were drawn as solid lines. The scale of the map used for Canada dictates the use of an isoline interval of 12 millimetres.

In 2023, precipitation worldwide stood at 1.82 inches below the annual average recorded across the previous century (1901 to 2000). In the past half-century, 2023 was the driest year on record. In contrast, 2010 was the wettest of the indicated period, with almost 1.4 inches of rainfall above the annual average.

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.

The UK hourly rainfall data contain the rainfall amount (and duration from tilting syphon gauges) during the hour (or hours) ending at the specified time. The data also contains precipitation amounts, however precipitation measured over 24 hours are not stored. Over time a range of rain gauges have been used - see the linked MIDAS User Guide for further details.

This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data.

The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: NCM, AWSHRLY, DLY3208, SREW and SSER. The data spans from 1915 to 2023.

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by the Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. A large proportion of the UK raingauge observing network (associated with WAHRAIN, WADRAIN and WAMRAIN for hourly, daily and monthly rainfall measurements respectively) is operated by other agencies beyond the Met Office, and are consequently currently excluded from the Midas-open dataset.

Between 2001 and 2024, the average rainfall in the United Kingdom varied greatly. In 2010, rainfall dropped to a low of 1,020 millimeters, which was a noticeable decrease when compared to the previous year. However, the following year, rainfall increased significantly to a peak of 1,889 millimeters. During the period in consideration, rainfall rarely rose above 1,500 millimeters. In 2024, the annual average rainfall in the UK surpassed 1,386 millimeters. Monthly rainfall On average, rainfall is most common at the start and end of the year. Between 2014 and 2024, monthly rainfall peaked in December 2015 at approximately 217 millimeters. This was the first of only two times during this period that the average monthly rainfall rose above 200 millimeters. This was a deviation from December’s long-term mean of some 134 millimeters. Rainfall highest in Scotland In the United Kingdom, rain is often concentrated around mountainous regions such as the Scottish Highlands, so it is no surprise to see that – on average – it is Scotland that receives the most rainfall annually. However, in 2024, Wales received the highest rainfall amounting to approximately 1,600 millimeters. Geographically, it is the north and west of the United Kingdom that receives the lion's share of rain, as it is more susceptible to rainfall coming in from the Atlantic.

Using observation data from various agencies in Taiwan, including the Central Weather Bureau, Water Resources Agency, Irrigation Agency and Taiwan Power Company, supplementary, homogenization, and gridization operations were carried out to establish grid data with a resolution of 5 kilometers throughout Taiwan. This data was produced by the "Taiwan Climate Change Projection Information and Adaptation Knowledge Platform Project" of the National Science Council.

This map displays Hurricane Helene 2024 estimated rainfall totals for FEMA region 4.NOTE: The data provided are preliminary. They are subject to updates and corrections as appropriate.The National Hurricane Center is responsible for conducting the official post-analysis of all tropical cyclones. Once compiled, the Tropical Cyclone Report is posted here: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/index.php . For current official data and information, go to weather.gov.

The dataset contains records from the Town of Cary, NC Internet-of-Things rain gauges. This dataset contains 60 days' worth of data.Used as a part of the Stormwater Monitoring Dashboard

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).

The Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) Hourly Precipitation Data (HPD) consists of quality controlled precipitation amounts, which are measurements of hourly accumulation of precipitation, including rain and snow for approximately 2,000 observing stations around the country, and several U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific from the National Weather Service (NWS) Fischer-Porter Network. This new version of COOP HPD with faster automations due updated stations will result in faster access for the public. The data are from 1940 to present, depending upon when each station was installed. These stations, nearly all of which were part of HPD version 1, also known as DSI-3240, were gradually upgraded from paper punch tape data recording systems to a more modern electronic data logger system from 2004-2013. The 15-min gauge depth time series are processed at NCEI via automated quality control and filtering algorithms to identify and remove spurious observations from noise and malfunctioning equipment, and also those due to natural phenomena such as evaporation and the necessary occasional emptying of the gauge. Hourly precipitation totals are then computed from the 15-min data and are quality controlled by a suite of automated algorithms that combine checks on the daily and hourly time scale. Data and metadata are ingested on a daily basis and combined in a single integrated dataset. As with the legacy punch paper instrumentation, the electronic loggers record rain gauge depth every 15 minutes. Monthly site visits to each station are still performed, but instead of collecting punched paper (that would subsequently need conversion to a digital record via a MITRON reader), data are downloaded from the station's datalogger to a memory stick and centrally collected at the local Weather Forecast Office (WFO) for all stations in the WFO area. The WFO subsequently combines all data into a single tar file and transfers the data to NCEI via ftp upload nominally each month. This updated HPD includes the historical data from the punch paper era and the recent digital era in order to provide the full period of record for each location. These data are formatted consistent with practices for NCEI Global In-situ datasets.

Historical rainfall data from the Climate Change Knowledge Portal , World Bank Group (Website: http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportal/index.cfm?page=downscaled_data_download&menu=historical)

Information on the spatio-temporal distribution of rainfall is very critical for addressing water related disasters, especially in the arid to semi-arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa region. However, availability of reliable rainfall datasets for the region is limited. In this study we combined observation from satellite-based rainfall data, in situ rain gauge observation and rainfall climatology to create a reliable regional rainfall dataset for Jordan, West Bank and Lebanon. First, we validated three satellite-based rainfall products using rain gauge observations obtained from Jordan (205 stations), Palestine (44 stations) and Lebanon (8 stations). We used the daily 25-km Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission over 2000 – 2016; daily 10-km Rainfall Estimate for Africa (RFE) rainfall over 2001 – 2016; daily 5-km Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) rainfall over 1981-2015; daily 25-km Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) ov ...

The average for 2020 based on 178 countries was 1168 mm per year. The highest value was in Colombia: 3240 mm per year and the lowest value was in Egypt: 18 mm per year. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Historical rainfall data from the Climate Change Knowledge Portal, World Bank Group (Website: http://sdwebx.worldbank.org/climateportal/index.cfm?page=downscaled_data_download&menu=historical)