During the past winter, parts of California experienced massive amounts of rain and snow. Though it momentarily eased the frequent drought periods that had been affecting the state, the surge in rainfall flooded roads, knocked out power, and broke levees. Fueled by multiple converging atmospheric rivers, the state's infrastructure was not able to capture all of the excess water, meaning water shortages could again return during future dry spells.
Climate change can both intensify rainfall and also extend droughts. Warmer temperatures increase rates of evaporation, pulling more water from the ocean and causing more precipitation overall. Data indicates single-day precipitation extremes are happening more frequently. Conversely, more evaporation also dries out surface water and soil, leaving less fresh water available. Even as the moist air from oceans and other sources returns to land as rain, sleet, or snow, inconsistent wind patterns and currents mean it isn't distributed evenly. That's why even as some counties experienced their wettest year on record, others experienced their driest.
Nationwide, 43% of counties reported precipitation over the past year greater than their long-term average. A 1,000-year event dumped 25 inches of rainfall over 24 hours in Fort Lauderdale on April 13. Nevada desert regions experienced thunderstorms and heavy rain in June. Severe weather through the mid-Atlantic in August brought tennis ball-sized hail to West Virginia and softball-sized hail and flash flooding in Maryland.
Using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information, Stacker identified counties in Alabama that received the most precipitation from September 2022 to August 2023 compared to their average annual precipitation from 1901 to 2000. In the case of a tie, the amount of precipitation over the past year served as a tiebreaker.
Read on to see which counties reported more precipitation over the past year than usual.
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#40. Choctaw County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.3 inches above average (#61 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.0 inches above statewide average
#39. Bullock County
- Precipitation over the past year: 52.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.3 inches above average (#72 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.8 inches below statewide average
#38. Montgomery County
- Precipitation over the past year: 52.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.6 inches above average (#66 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.5 inches below statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
4 / 40#37. Shelby County
- Precipitation over the past year: 55.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.8 inches above average (#60 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.5 inches above statewide average
#36. Walker County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.3 inches above average (#56 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.7 inches above statewide average
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6 / 40#35. Lauderdale County
- Precipitation over the past year: 55.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.6 inches above average (#54 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.4 inches above statewide average
#34. Cleburne County
- Precipitation over the past year: 55.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.6 inches above average (#56 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.4 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
8 / 40#33. Washington County
- Precipitation over the past year: 61.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.7 inches above average (#52 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.3 inches above statewide average
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9 / 40#32. Calhoun County
- Precipitation over the past year: 55.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.8 inches above average (#56 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.0 inches above statewide average
#31. Clarke County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.9 inches above average (#49 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.7 inches above statewide average
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#30. Lamar County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.3 inches above average (#52 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.2 inches above statewide average
#29. Fayette County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.9 inches above average (#48 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.0 inches above statewide average
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13 / 40#28. Jackson County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.0 inches above average (#49 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.6 inches above statewide average
#27. Lawrence County
- Precipitation over the past year: 56.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.0 inches above average (#50 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.3 inches above statewide average
#26. Limestone County
- Precipitation over the past year: 56.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.2 inches above average (#50 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.8 inches above statewide average
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#25. Etowah County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.2 inches above average (#46 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.5 inches above statewide average
Wayne James // Shutterstock
17 / 40#24. Colbert County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.5 inches above average (#43 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.9 inches above statewide average
#23. Madison County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.6 inches above average (#46 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.8 inches above statewide average
Mccallk69 // Shutterstock
19 / 40#22. Macon County
- Precipitation over the past year: 55.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.7 inches above average (#49 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.3 inches above statewide average
#21. Elmore County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.7 inches above average (#42 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.1 inches above statewide average
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21 / 40#20. Russell County
- Precipitation over the past year: 53.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.7 inches above average (#41 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.6 inches below statewide average
#19. Greene County
- Precipitation over the past year: 57.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.1 inches above average (#42 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.9 inches above statewide average
Thomas Burks // Shutterstock
23 / 40#18. Randolph County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.3 inches above average (#41 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.9 inches above statewide average
#17. DeKalb County
- Precipitation over the past year: 60.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.7 inches above average (#41 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.1 inches above statewide average
Riley Camp // Shutterstock
25 / 40#16. St. Clair County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.7 inches above average (#37 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.8 inches above statewide average
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#15. Marshall County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.8 inches above average (#40 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.1 inches above statewide average
Jennifer Kinkead McNutt // Shutterstock
27 / 40#14. Marion County
- Precipitation over the past year: 60.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.9 inches above average (#41 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.3 inches above statewide average
#13. Morgan County
- Precipitation over the past year: 59.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.0 inches above average (#37 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.8 inches above statewide average
Shackleford Photography // Shutterstock
29 / 40#12. Cherokee County
- Precipitation over the past year: 58.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.0 inches above average (#34 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.4 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
30 / 40#11. Blount County
- Precipitation over the past year: 60.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.1 inches above average (#40 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.5 inches above statewide average
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Curtis Lee Newton // Shutterstock
31 / 40#10. Franklin County
- Precipitation over the past year: 60.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.7 inches above average (#37 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.3 inches above statewide average
#9. Lee County
- Precipitation over the past year: 58.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.1 inches above average (#32 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.2 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
33 / 40#8. Coosa County
- Precipitation over the past year: 61.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.5 inches above average (#30 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.0 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
34 / 40#7. Clay County
- Precipitation over the past year: 62.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.7 inches above average (#26 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 7.4 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
35 / 40#6. Chambers County
- Precipitation over the past year: 60.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.8 inches above average (#27 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.0 inches above statewide average
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#5. Winston County
- Precipitation over the past year: 63.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 7.2 inches above average (#32 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 8.5 inches above statewide average
#4. Cullman County
- Precipitation over the past year: 63.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 7.2 inches above average (#28 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 8.2 inches above statewide average
#3. Tallapoosa County
- Precipitation over the past year: 61.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 7.3 inches above average (#19 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.4 inches above statewide average
#2. Talladega County
- Precipitation over the past year: 61.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 7.9 inches above average (#25 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.5 inches above statewide average
JNix // Shutterstock
40 / 40#1. Pickens County
- Precipitation over the past year: 61.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 8.2 inches above average (#30 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.5 inches above statewide average
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 44 states.
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