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 Colorado 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.
#45. Archuleta County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.1 inches above average (#58 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.4 inches above statewide average
#44. La Plata County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.4 inches above average (#54 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.8 inches above statewide average
#43. Gunnison County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.7 inches above average (#56 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.9 inches above statewide average
#42. Baca County
- Precipitation over the past year: 16.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 0.8 inches above average (#52 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.4 inches below statewide average
#41. Cheyenne County
- Precipitation over the past year: 16.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.0 inches above average (#54 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.8 inches below statewide average
#40. San Miguel County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.0 inches above average (#47 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.1 inches above statewide average
#39. Sedgwick County
- Precipitation over the past year: 19.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.2 inches above average (#44 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.8 inches below statewide average
#38. Clear Creek County
- Precipitation over the past year: 27.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.2 inches above average (#42 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 7.2 inches above statewide average
#37. Yuma County
- Precipitation over the past year: 18.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.3 inches above average (#40 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.3 inches below statewide average
#36. Grand County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.7 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.3 inches above average (#40 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.6 inches above statewide average
#35. Pitkin County
- Precipitation over the past year: 30.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.3 inches above average (#51 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 10.4 inches above statewide average
#34. San Juan County
- Precipitation over the past year: 43.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.4 inches above average (#50 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 23.1 inches above statewide average
#33. Kit Carson County
- Precipitation over the past year: 18.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.5 inches above average (#42 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.8 inches below statewide average
#32. Phillips County
- Precipitation over the past year: 19.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.6 inches above average (#36 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.6 inches below statewide average
#31. Crowley County
- Precipitation over the past year: 13.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.6 inches above average (#36 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.5 inches below statewide average
#30. Otero County
- Precipitation over the past year: 15.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 1.8 inches above average (#33 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.9 inches below statewide average
#29. Montrose County
- Precipitation over the past year: 17.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.1 inches above average (#31 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.5 inches below statewide average
#28. Jackson County
- Precipitation over the past year: 25.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.2 inches above average (#33 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.2 inches above statewide average
#27. Lincoln County
- Precipitation over the past year: 16.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.4 inches above average (#25 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.4 inches below statewide average
#26. Dolores County
- Precipitation over the past year: 26.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.7 inches above average (#36 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 6.0 inches above statewide average
#25. Gilpin County
- Precipitation over the past year: 25.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.7 inches above average (#28 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 5.5 inches above statewide average
#24. Delta County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 2.8 inches above average (#25 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.4 inches above statewide average
#23. Bent County
- Precipitation over the past year: 17.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.1 inches above average (#22 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.1 inches below statewide average
#22. Moffat County
- Precipitation over the past year: 18.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.1 inches above average (#19 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.1 inches below statewide average
#21. Montezuma County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.2 inches above average (#25 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.3 inches above statewide average
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
26 / 45#20. Kiowa County
- Precipitation over the past year: 17.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.2 inches above average (#20 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.6 inches below statewide average
#19. Mesa County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.3 inches above average (#24 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.1 inches above statewide average
#18. Jefferson County
- Precipitation over the past year: 21.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.3 inches above average (#19 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.4 inches above statewide average
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
29 / 45#17. Logan County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.1 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.5 inches above average (#15 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.1 inches above statewide average
#16. Prowers County
- Precipitation over the past year: 18.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.7 inches above average (#16 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.2 inches below statewide average
#15. Routt County
- Precipitation over the past year: 28.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.9 inches above average (#21 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 8.8 inches above statewide average
#14. Larimer County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.9 inches above average (#14 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.8 inches above statewide average
Maciej Bledowski // Shutterstock
33 / 45#13. Boulder County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.9 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 3.9 inches above average (#16 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.9 inches above statewide average
#12. Rio Blanco County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.4 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.6 inches above average (#11 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.3 inches above statewide average
#11. El Paso County
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.6 inches above average (#10 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.6 inches above statewide average
#10. Washington County
- Precipitation over the past year: 21.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 4.9 inches above average (#6 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.3 inches above statewide average
#9. Broomfield
- Precipitation over the past year: 20.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.8 inches above average (#4 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.5 inches above statewide average
#8. Douglas County
- Precipitation over the past year: 24.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 5.9 inches above average (#6 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.1 inches above statewide average
#7. Weld County
- Precipitation over the past year: 19.8 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.0 inches above average (#4 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 0.3 inches below statewide average
f11photo // Shutterstock
40 / 45#6. Denver
- Precipitation over the past year: 21.0 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.0 inches above average (#3 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 1.0 inches above statewide average
#5. Garfield County
- Precipitation over the past year: 29.2 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.7 inches above average (#7 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 9.1 inches above statewide average
Cavan-Images // Shutterstock
42 / 45#4. Elbert County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.3 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 6.7 inches above average (#3 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.2 inches above statewide average
#3. Morgan County
- Precipitation over the past year: 22.6 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 8.1 inches above average (#2 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 2.5 inches above statewide average
#2. Adams County
- Precipitation over the past year: 23.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 8.3 inches above average (#1 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 3.4 inches above statewide average
#1. Arapahoe County
- Precipitation over the past year: 24.5 inches
- Comparison to 1901-2000 average: 8.6 inches above average (#1 rainiest September-August period since 1895)
- Comparison to state's precipitation over past year: 4.4 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.
