Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation

Russell County had the highest annual precipitation of 120 counties in 2019, at 70.16 inches. Greenup County had the lowest, at 49.23 inches. The median was 61.01 inches and the figure for Kentucky was 61.31 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest70.16Russell County
Lowest49.23Greenup County
Median61.01120 counties
Kentucky61.31History

Map of counties, 2019

Adair County: 66.4 inchesAllen County: 67.88 inchesAnderson County: 62.28 inchesBallard County: 65.13 inchesBarren County: 66.77 inchesBath County: 61.71 inchesBell County: 67.34 inchesBoone County: 53.89 inchesBourbon County: 59.09 inchesBoyd County: 52.72 inchesBoyle County: 53.87 inchesBracken County: 55.01 inchesBreathitt County: 57.08 inchesBreckinridge County: 65.9 inchesBullitt County: 62.98 inchesButler County: 65.75 inchesCaldwell County: 57.93 inchesCalloway County: 60.87 inchesCampbell County: 53.37 inchesCarlisle County: 66.52 inchesCarroll County: 55.42 inchesCarter County: 52.74 inchesCasey County: 61.6 inchesChristian County: 57.52 inchesClark County: 61.78 inchesClay County: 64.92 inchesClinton County: 69.46 inchesCrittenden County: 61.08 inchesCumberland County: 66.52 inchesDaviess County: 60.9 inchesEdmonson County: 65.09 inchesElliott County: 56.01 inchesEstill County: 65.04 inchesFayette County: 59.05 inchesFleming County: 59.14 inchesFloyd County: 54.13 inchesFranklin County: 61.28 inchesFulton County: 68.56 inchesGallatin County: 55.35 inchesGarrard County: 57.34 inchesGrant County: 55.47 inchesGraves County: 65.15 inchesGrayson County: 66.59 inchesGreen County: 60.2 inchesGreenup County: 49.23 inchesHancock County: 63.54 inchesHardin County: 64.62 inchesHarlan County: 62.74 inchesHarrison County: 58.74 inchesHart County: 62.18 inchesHenderson County: 58.18 inchesHenry County: 59.28 inchesHickman County: 67.81 inchesHopkins County: 61.38 inchesJackson County: 65.62 inchesJefferson County: 60.42 inchesJessamine County: 58.36 inchesJohnson County: 54.52 inchesKenton County: 53.78 inchesKnott County: 53.62 inchesKnox County: 64.9 inchesLarue County: 62.08 inchesLaurel County: 66.05 inchesLawrence County: 54.33 inchesLee County: 62.81 inchesLeslie County: 60.14 inchesLetcher County: 53.56 inchesLewis County: 55.08 inchesLincoln County: 57.61 inchesLivingston County: 62.69 inchesLogan County: 65.16 inchesLyon County: 59.21 inchesMcCracken County: 65.36 inchesMcCreary County: 68.84 inchesMcLean County: 59 inchesMadison County: 61.04 inchesMagoffin County: 54.25 inchesMarion County: 59.56 inchesMarshall County: 62.35 inchesMartin County: 56.16 inchesMason County: 55.82 inchesMeade County: 61.81 inchesMenifee County: 63.83 inchesMercer County: 58.17 inchesMetcalfe County: 64.28 inchesMonroe County: 66.86 inchesMontgomery County: 63 inchesMorgan County: 57.06 inchesMuhlenberg County: 64.01 inchesNelson County: 64.3 inchesNicholas County: 59.36 inchesOhio County: 65.14 inchesOldham County: 60.49 inchesOwen County: 58.1 inchesOwsley County: 62.75 inchesPendleton County: 54.78 inchesPerry County: 56.37 inchesPike County: 56.38 inchesPowell County: 66.04 inchesPulaski County: 66.86 inchesRobertson County: 57.47 inchesRockcastle County: 64.36 inchesRowan County: 60.11 inchesRussell County: 70.16 inchesScott County: 59.91 inchesShelby County: 63.84 inchesSimpson County: 66.49 inchesSpencer County: 65.14 inchesTaylor County: 60.98 inchesTodd County: 59.44 inchesTrigg County: 58.51 inchesTrimble County: 55.58 inchesUnion County: 54.85 inchesWarren County: 65.3 inchesWashington County: 61.08 inchesWayne County: 69.18 inchesWebster County: 60.23 inchesWhitley County: 67.67 inchesWolfe County: 59.35 inchesWoodford County: 59.99 inches
  • Under 56
  • 56 to 59
  • 59 to 61
  • 61 to 64
  • 64 to 66
  • 66 and over
inches, 2019. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2019

Russell County: 70.16 inchesRussell County70.16Clinton County: 69.46 inchesClinton County69.46Wayne County: 69.18 inchesWayne County69.18McCreary County: 68.84 inchesMcCreary County68.84Fulton County: 68.56 inchesFulton County68.56Allen County: 67.88 inchesAllen County67.88Hickman County: 67.81 inchesHickman County67.81Whitley County: 67.67 inchesWhitley County67.67Bell County: 67.34 inchesBell County67.34Monroe County: 66.86 inchesMonroe County66.86Pulaski County: 66.86 inchesPulaski County66.86Barren County: 66.77 inchesBarren County66.77Grayson County: 66.59 inchesGrayson County66.59Carlisle County: 66.52 inchesCarlisle County66.52Cumberland County: 66.52 inchesCumberland County66.52Simpson County: 66.49 inchesSimpson County66.49Adair County: 66.4 inchesAdair County66.4Laurel County: 66.05 inchesLaurel County66.05Powell County: 66.04 inchesPowell County66.04Breckinridge County: 65.9 inchesBreckinridge County65.9Butler County: 65.75 inchesButler County65.75Jackson County: 65.62 inchesJackson County65.62McCracken County: 65.36 inchesMcCracken County65.36Warren County: 65.3 inchesWarren County65.3Logan County: 65.16 inchesLogan County65.16Graves County: 65.15 inchesGraves County65.15Ohio County: 65.14 inchesOhio County65.14Spencer County: 65.14 inchesSpencer County65.14Ballard County: 65.13 inchesBallard County65.13Edmonson County: 65.09 inchesEdmonson County65.09Estill County: 65.04 inchesEstill County65.04Clay County: 64.92 inchesClay County64.92Knox County: 64.9 inchesKnox County64.9Hardin County: 64.62 inchesHardin County64.62Rockcastle County: 64.36 inchesRockcastle County64.36Nelson County: 64.3 inchesNelson County64.3Metcalfe County: 64.28 inchesMetcalfe County64.28Muhlenberg County: 64.01 inchesMuhlenberg County64.01Shelby County: 63.84 inchesShelby County63.84Menifee County: 63.83 inchesMenifee County63.83Russell County: 70.16 inchesRussell County70.16Clinton County: 69.46 inchesClinton County69.46Wayne County: 69.18 inchesWayne County69.18McCreary County: 68.84 inchesMcCreary County68.84Fulton County: 68.56 inchesFulton County68.56Allen County: 67.88 inchesAllen County67.88Hickman County: 67.81 inchesHickman County67.81Whitley County: 67.67 inchesWhitley County67.67Bell County: 67.34 inchesBell County67.34Monroe County: 66.86 inchesMonroe County66.86Pulaski County: 66.86 inchesPulaski County66.86Barren County: 66.77 inchesBarren County66.77Grayson County: 66.59 inchesGrayson County66.59Carlisle County: 66.52 inchesCarlisle County66.52Cumberland County: 66.52 inchesCumberland County66.52Simpson County: 66.49 inchesSimpson County66.49Adair County: 66.4 inchesAdair County66.4Laurel County: 66.05 inchesLaurel County66.05Powell County: 66.04 inchesPowell County66.04Breckinridge County: 65.9 inchesBreckinridge County65.9Butler County: 65.75 inchesButler County65.75Jackson County: 65.62 inchesJackson County65.62McCracken County: 65.36 inchesMcCracken County65.36Warren County: 65.3 inchesWarren County65.3Logan County: 65.16 inchesLogan County65.16Graves County: 65.15 inchesGraves County65.15Ohio County: 65.14 inchesOhio County65.14Spencer County: 65.14 inchesSpencer County65.14Ballard County: 65.13 inchesBallard County65.13Edmonson County: 65.09 inchesEdmonson County65.09Estill County: 65.04 inchesEstill County65.04Clay County: 64.92 inchesClay County64.92Knox County: 64.9 inchesKnox County64.9Hardin County: 64.62 inchesHardin County64.62Rockcastle County: 64.36 inchesRockcastle County64.36Nelson County: 64.3 inchesNelson County64.3Metcalfe County: 64.28 inchesMetcalfe County64.28Muhlenberg County: 64.01 inchesMuhlenberg County64.01Shelby County: 63.84 inchesShelby County63.84Menifee County: 63.83 inchesMenifee County63.83
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019
inches
Change on 2018
1Russell County70.16-5.2%
2Clinton County69.46-5%
3Wayne County69.18-2.8%
4McCreary County68.84+2.4%
5Fulton County68.56+22.5%
6Allen County67.88+3.6%
7Hickman County67.81+18.3%
8Whitley County67.67+3.8%
9Bell County67.34+5.1%
10Monroe County66.86-4.2%
10Pulaski County66.86-6.6%
12Barren County66.77+5.8%
13Grayson County66.59+10%
14Carlisle County66.52+13.9%
14Cumberland County66.52-7.5%
16Simpson County66.49+8.6%
17Adair County66.4-0.3%
18Laurel County66.050%
19Powell County66.04-13.5%
20Breckinridge County65.9+9.8%
21Butler County65.75+17.9%
22Jackson County65.62-3.1%
23McCracken County65.36+13.8%
24Warren County65.3+10.8%
25Logan County65.16+6.1%
26Graves County65.15+13.6%
27Ohio County65.14+16.6%
27Spencer County65.14-2.9%
29Ballard County65.13+12.7%
30Edmonson County65.09+8.1%
31Estill County65.04-12%
32Clay County64.92+5.9%
33Knox County64.9+1.5%
34Hardin County64.62+0.5%
35Rockcastle County64.36-9.9%
36Nelson County64.3-3.7%
37Metcalfe County64.28+4.8%
38Muhlenberg County64.01+12.7%
39Shelby County63.84-8.6%
40Menifee County63.83-14%
41Hancock County63.54+0.2%
42Montgomery County63-15%
43Bullitt County62.98-4.8%
44Lee County62.81-7.1%
45Owsley County62.75+1.5%
46Harlan County62.74-4.5%
47Livingston County62.69+8.1%
48Marshall County62.35+8.3%
49Anderson County62.28-11.1%
50Hart County62.180%
51Larue County62.08-7.6%
52Meade County61.81+5.2%
53Clark County61.78-16.6%
54Bath County61.71-15.1%
55Casey County61.6-11.9%
56Hopkins County61.38+3.5%
57Franklin County61.28-17.1%
58Crittenden County61.08+2.8%
58Washington County61.08-8.1%
60Madison County61.04-15.3%
61Taylor County60.98-0.8%
62Daviess County60.9+4.1%
63Calloway County60.87+3.4%
64Oldham County60.49-12.9%
65Jefferson County60.42-10.2%
66Webster County60.23+2.9%
67Green County60.2+2.3%
68Leslie County60.14-2.6%
69Rowan County60.11-13.9%
70Woodford County59.99-17.6%
71Scott County59.91-20.1%
72Marion County59.56-7.8%
73Todd County59.44+2%
74Nicholas County59.36-16.8%
75Wolfe County59.35-13%
76Henry County59.28-14.4%
77Lyon County59.21-0.6%
78Fleming County59.14-16.5%
79Bourbon County59.09-18.7%
80Fayette County59.05-19.5%
81McLean County59+7%
82Harrison County58.74-16.3%
83Trigg County58.51-4.2%
84Jessamine County58.36-16.6%
85Henderson County58.18-1.4%
86Mercer County58.17-14.4%
87Owen County58.1-16%
88Caldwell County57.93-1.2%
89Lincoln County57.61-17.3%
90Christian County57.52+1.3%
91Robertson County57.47-14.7%
92Garrard County57.34-16.5%
93Breathitt County57.08-9.1%
94Morgan County57.06-12.2%
95Pike County56.38-12.5%
96Perry County56.37-8%
97Martin County56.16-7.6%
98Elliott County56.01-9.8%
99Mason County55.82-14.6%
100Trimble County55.58-17.1%
101Grant County55.47-13.3%
102Carroll County55.42-14.4%
103Gallatin County55.35-10.2%
104Lewis County55.08-12.4%
105Bracken County55.01-10.3%
106Union County54.85-2.6%
107Pendleton County54.78-11.6%
108Johnson County54.52-5.8%
109Lawrence County54.33-8.6%
110Magoffin County54.25-10.4%
111Floyd County54.13-9.5%
112Boone County53.89-7.7%
113Boyle County53.87-17.8%
114Kenton County53.78-7.4%
115Knott County53.62-12.4%
116Letcher County53.56-12.8%
117Campbell County53.37-7.5%
118Carter County52.74-9.5%
119Boyd County52.72-9.5%
120Greenup County49.23-7.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_kentucky_by_2019,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Kentucky by annual precipitation, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/kentucky-counties?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Russell County, with 70.16 inches in 2019, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Greenup County, with 49.23 inches in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings