GREENVILLE, N.C. (Stacker.com) — Rain, sleet, snow, hail, wintry mix. Precipitation takes on many forms, and the degree to which climate change affects precipitation levels comes down to something almost everyone learns about in school—Earth’s water cycle. A system in endless motion, the water cycle traces the process through which water exists in its three primary phases—liquid, solid, and gas—as it moves perpetually between the Earth and its atmosphere.
Increases in precipitation frequency and intensity are markers of climate change. When temperatures rise and oceans grow warmer, the amount of water that evaporates into the atmosphere—and the speed at which it does so—also increases. As atmospheric circulation carries the moisture-rich air over land or pushes it into a storm system, heavy rain or snow is often the result.
The continental U.S. on average received about 30 inches of precipitation between March 2022 and February 2023. Traditionally “wet” regions—such as Washington state and Alaska in the northwest and Georgia and Mississippi in the southeast—continue to have some of the rainiest counties in the United States. Other areas such as Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, as well as pockets of the South and of California, experience the opposite extreme: drought, also largely a product of climate change.
Stacker cited data from the National Centers for Environmental Information to identify the counties in North Carolina that receive the most precipitation through rain, sleet, or snow. Counties are ranked by five-year precipitation averages in inches as of February 2023 with rainfall over the past year serving as a tiebreaker. Supplementary data on how last year’s precipitation compares to the 100-year average for the area is also included.
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#50. Greene County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.47 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 38.80 inches (#10 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -10.00 inches below norm
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#49. Wilson County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.48 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 40.51 inches (#17 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -6.85 inches below norm
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#48. Columbus County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.60 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 44.91 inches (#35 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.53 inches below norm
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#47. Catawba County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.69 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 49.98 inches (#80 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.19 inches above norm
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#46. Tyrrell County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.85 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 48.23 inches (#44 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.64 inches below norm
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#45. Pasquotank County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.94 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.66 inches (#58 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.88 inches below norm
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#44. Lenoir County
– Five-year precipitation average: 54.96 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 37.79 inches (#6 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -12.29 inches below norm
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#43. Wayne County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.11 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 38.35 inches (#8 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -9.94 inches below norm
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#42. Johnston County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.14 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 42.74 inches (#29 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.26 inches below norm
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#41. Alexander County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.15 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 50.23 inches (#85 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.89 inches above norm
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#40. Madison County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.21 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 43.35 inches (#44 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.42 inches below norm
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#39. Washington County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.26 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.68 inches (#44 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.88 inches below norm
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#38. Chowan County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.43 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.45 inches (#54 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.08 inches below norm
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#37. Montgomery County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.43 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.38 inches (#76 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.70 inches above norm
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#36. Perquimans County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.48 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.81 inches (#54 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.42 inches below norm
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#35. Duplin County
– Five-year precipitation average: 55.72 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 37.31 inches (#5 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -13.14 inches below norm
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#34. Yadkin County
– Five-year precipitation average: 56.18 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 50.79 inches (#104 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 5.50 inches above norm
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#33. Hyde County
– Five-year precipitation average: 56.52 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 47.78 inches (#31 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.58 inches below norm
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#32. Stokes County
– Five-year precipitation average: 56.64 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 53.46 inches (#115 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 7.56 inches above norm
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#31. Jones County
– Five-year precipitation average: 56.94 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 44.40 inches (#17 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -8.15 inches below norm
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#30. Rutherford County
– Five-year precipitation average: 57.03 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 50.08 inches (#63 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.43 inches below norm
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#29. Craven County
– Five-year precipitation average: 57.36 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 46.84 inches (#22 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -6.12 inches below norm
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#28. Onslow County
– Five-year precipitation average: 57.71 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 44.65 inches (#14 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -8.99 inches below norm
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#27. Buncombe County
– Five-year precipitation average: 57.96 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 48.21 inches (#70 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 0.12 inches above norm
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#26. Pender County
– Five-year precipitation average: 58.45 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 42.09 inches (#11 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -9.96 inches below norm
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#25. Brunswick County
– Five-year precipitation average: 58.49 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 46.57 inches (#34 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -5.28 inches below norm
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#24. Pamlico County
– Five-year precipitation average: 58.76 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 49.25 inches (#33 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.57 inches below norm
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#23. Surry County
– Five-year precipitation average: 59.87 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 53.88 inches (#104 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 6.29 inches above norm
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#22. Burke County
– Five-year precipitation average: 60.04 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 53.44 inches (#88 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.85 inches above norm
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#21. Mitchell County
– Five-year precipitation average: 60.68 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 49.86 inches (#60 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.12 inches below norm
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#20. Wilkes County
– Five-year precipitation average: 61.04 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 54.13 inches (#90 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 4.33 inches above norm
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#19. New Hanover County
– Five-year precipitation average: 61.65 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 41.79 inches (#13 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -11.25 inches below norm
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#18. Caldwell County
– Five-year precipitation average: 61.89 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 53.75 inches (#83 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.18 inches above norm
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#17. Carteret County
– Five-year precipitation average: 61.90 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 49.67 inches (#35 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -5.47 inches below norm
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#16. Ashe County
– Five-year precipitation average: 62.82 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 52.94 inches (#79 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.06 inches above norm
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#15. Avery County
– Five-year precipitation average: 63.33 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 54.39 inches (#64 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.48 inches below norm
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#14. Watauga County
– Five-year precipitation average: 64.12 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 54.52 inches (#78 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 1.72 inches above norm
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#13. Yancey County
– Five-year precipitation average: 64.22 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 51.37 inches (#63 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.55 inches below norm
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#12. Alleghany County
– Five-year precipitation average: 65.06 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 54.26 inches (#83 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 3.29 inches above norm
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#11. Polk County
– Five-year precipitation average: 65.17 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 57.00 inches (#72 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -0.75 inches below norm
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#10. Haywood County
– Five-year precipitation average: 66.00 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 51.92 inches (#48 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -3.27 inches below norm
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#9. Henderson County
– Five-year precipitation average: 67.55 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 55.60 inches (#57 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.91 inches below norm
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#8. McDowell County
– Five-year precipitation average: 68.94 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 57.43 inches (#81 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: 2.28 inches above norm
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#7. Cherokee County
– Five-year precipitation average: 70.39 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 55.49 inches (#41 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.13 inches below norm
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#6. Swain County
– Five-year precipitation average: 72.59 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 59.69 inches (#41 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -3.84 inches below norm
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#5. Graham County
– Five-year precipitation average: 72.78 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 58.80 inches (#36 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -4.82 inches below norm
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#4. Clay County
– Five-year precipitation average: 73.02 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 58.92 inches (#46 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -2.55 inches below norm
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#3. Jackson County
– Five-year precipitation average: 75.00 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 61.84 inches (#60 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.14 inches below norm
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#2. Macon County
– Five-year precipitation average: 75.66 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 61.93 inches (#52 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.70 inches below norm
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#1. Transylvania County
– Five-year precipitation average: 82.18 inches
– Precipitation over the past year: 68.67 inches (#64 rainiest year since 1895)
– Precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average: -1.34 inches below norm
