Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation

Pembina County had the highest annual precipitation of 53 counties in 2015, at 24.96 inches. Adams County had the lowest, at 13.58 inches. The median was 17.35 inches and the figure for North Dakota was 17.72 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest24.96Pembina County
Lowest13.58Adams County
Median17.3553 counties
North Dakota17.72History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 13.58 inchesBarnes County: 20.53 inchesBenson County: 16.47 inchesBillings County: 14.13 inchesBottineau County: 18.31 inchesBowman County: 15.95 inchesBurke County: 17.38 inchesBurleigh County: 17.26 inchesCass County: 20.32 inchesCavalier County: 20.64 inchesDickey County: 21.05 inchesDivide County: 15.57 inchesDunn County: 16.36 inchesEddy County: 17.35 inchesEmmons County: 18.89 inchesFoster County: 18.18 inchesGolden Valley County: 14.49 inchesGrand Forks County: 21.15 inchesGrant County: 17.52 inchesGriggs County: 20.78 inchesHettinger County: 14.55 inchesKidder County: 17.06 inchesLaMoure County: 19.74 inchesLogan County: 19.4 inchesMcHenry County: 16.79 inchesMcIntosh County: 19.79 inchesMcKenzie County: 14.39 inchesMcLean County: 17.13 inchesMercer County: 16.66 inchesMorton County: 16.82 inchesMountrail County: 16.22 inchesNelson County: 21.4 inchesOliver County: 16.52 inchesPembina County: 24.96 inchesPierce County: 17.09 inchesRamsey County: 18.82 inchesRansom County: 19.55 inchesRenville County: 16.45 inchesRichland County: 20.37 inchesRolette County: 18.54 inchesSargent County: 19.11 inchesSheridan County: 16.31 inchesSioux County: 18.66 inchesSlope County: 14.82 inchesStark County: 13.88 inchesSteele County: 19.8 inchesStutsman County: 20.25 inchesTowner County: 16.92 inchesTraill County: 19.9 inchesWalsh County: 22.84 inchesWard County: 17.1 inchesWells County: 14.82 inchesWilliams County: 13.83 inches
  • Under 15
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inches, 2015. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2015

Pembina County: 24.96 inchesPembina County24.96Walsh County: 22.84 inchesWalsh County22.84Nelson County: 21.4 inchesNelson County21.4Grand Forks County: 21.15 inchesGrand Forks County21.15Dickey County: 21.05 inchesDickey County21.05Griggs County: 20.78 inchesGriggs County20.78Cavalier County: 20.64 inchesCavalier County20.64Barnes County: 20.53 inchesBarnes County20.53Richland County: 20.37 inchesRichland County20.37Cass County: 20.32 inchesCass County20.32Stutsman County: 20.25 inchesStutsman County20.25Traill County: 19.9 inchesTraill County19.9Steele County: 19.8 inchesSteele County19.8McIntosh County: 19.79 inchesMcIntosh County19.79LaMoure County: 19.74 inchesLaMoure County19.74Ransom County: 19.55 inchesRansom County19.55Logan County: 19.4 inchesLogan County19.4Sargent County: 19.11 inchesSargent County19.11Emmons County: 18.89 inchesEmmons County18.89Ramsey County: 18.82 inchesRamsey County18.82Sioux County: 18.66 inchesSioux County18.66Rolette County: 18.54 inchesRolette County18.54Bottineau County: 18.31 inchesBottineau County18.31Foster County: 18.18 inchesFoster County18.18Grant County: 17.52 inchesGrant County17.52Burke County: 17.38 inchesBurke County17.38Eddy County: 17.35 inchesEddy County17.35Burleigh County: 17.26 inchesBurleigh County17.26McLean County: 17.13 inchesMcLean County17.13Ward County: 17.1 inchesWard County17.1Pierce County: 17.09 inchesPierce County17.09Kidder County: 17.06 inchesKidder County17.06Towner County: 16.92 inchesTowner County16.92Morton County: 16.82 inchesMorton County16.82McHenry County: 16.79 inchesMcHenry County16.79Mercer County: 16.66 inchesMercer County16.66Oliver County: 16.52 inchesOliver County16.52Benson County: 16.47 inchesBenson County16.47Renville County: 16.45 inchesRenville County16.45Dunn County: 16.36 inchesDunn County16.36Sheridan County: 16.31 inchesSheridan County16.31Mountrail County: 16.22 inchesMountrail County16.22Bowman County: 15.95 inchesBowman County15.95Divide County: 15.57 inchesDivide County15.57Slope County: 14.82 inchesSlope County14.82Wells County: 14.82 inchesWells County14.82Hettinger County: 14.55 inchesHettinger County14.55Golden Valley County: 14.49 inchesGolden Valley County14.49McKenzie County: 14.39 inchesMcKenzie County14.39Billings County: 14.13 inchesBillings County14.13Stark County: 13.88 inchesStark County13.88Williams County: 13.83 inchesWilliams County13.83Adams County: 13.58 inchesAdams County13.58Pembina County: 24.96 inchesPembina County24.96Walsh County: 22.84 inchesWalsh County22.84Nelson County: 21.4 inchesNelson County21.4Grand Forks County: 21.15 inchesGrand Forks County21.15Dickey County: 21.05 inchesDickey County21.05Griggs County: 20.78 inchesGriggs County20.78Cavalier County: 20.64 inchesCavalier County20.64Barnes County: 20.53 inchesBarnes County20.53Richland County: 20.37 inchesRichland County20.37Cass County: 20.32 inchesCass County20.32Stutsman County: 20.25 inchesStutsman County20.25Traill County: 19.9 inchesTraill County19.9Steele County: 19.8 inchesSteele County19.8McIntosh County: 19.79 inchesMcIntosh County19.79LaMoure County: 19.74 inchesLaMoure County19.74Ransom County: 19.55 inchesRansom County19.55Logan County: 19.4 inchesLogan County19.4Sargent County: 19.11 inchesSargent County19.11Emmons County: 18.89 inchesEmmons County18.89Ramsey County: 18.82 inchesRamsey County18.82Sioux County: 18.66 inchesSioux County18.66Rolette County: 18.54 inchesRolette County18.54Bottineau County: 18.31 inchesBottineau County18.31Foster County: 18.18 inchesFoster County18.18Grant County: 17.52 inchesGrant County17.52Burke County: 17.38 inchesBurke County17.38Eddy County: 17.35 inchesEddy County17.35Burleigh County: 17.26 inchesBurleigh County17.26McLean County: 17.13 inchesMcLean County17.13Ward County: 17.1 inchesWard County17.1Pierce County: 17.09 inchesPierce County17.09Kidder County: 17.06 inchesKidder County17.06Towner County: 16.92 inchesTowner County16.92Morton County: 16.82 inchesMorton County16.82McHenry County: 16.79 inchesMcHenry County16.79Mercer County: 16.66 inchesMercer County16.66Oliver County: 16.52 inchesOliver County16.52Benson County: 16.47 inchesBenson County16.47Renville County: 16.45 inchesRenville County16.45Dunn County: 16.36 inchesDunn County16.36Sheridan County: 16.31 inchesSheridan County16.31Mountrail County: 16.22 inchesMountrail County16.22Bowman County: 15.95 inchesBowman County15.95Divide County: 15.57 inchesDivide County15.57Slope County: 14.82 inchesSlope County14.82Wells County: 14.82 inchesWells County14.82Hettinger County: 14.55 inchesHettinger County14.55Golden Valley County: 14.49 inchesGolden Valley County14.49McKenzie County: 14.39 inchesMcKenzie County14.39Billings County: 14.13 inchesBillings County14.13Stark County: 13.88 inchesStark County13.88Williams County: 13.83 inchesWilliams County13.83Adams County: 13.58 inchesAdams County13.58
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
inches
Change on 2014
1Pembina County24.96+28.7%
2Walsh County22.84+6.8%
3Nelson County21.4+9.5%
4Grand Forks County21.15-2.7%
5Dickey County21.05-4.4%
6Griggs County20.78+12%
7Cavalier County20.64+12.3%
8Barnes County20.53+2.5%
9Richland County20.37-1.6%
10Cass County20.32+2.4%
11Stutsman County20.25+8.2%
12Traill County19.9-3.9%
13Steele County19.8+0.2%
14McIntosh County19.79+1.9%
15LaMoure County19.74-3.8%
16Ransom County19.55-5.6%
17Logan County19.4+2.3%
18Sargent County19.11-5.6%
19Emmons County18.89+12.3%
20Ramsey County18.82-0.7%
21Sioux County18.66+7.1%
22Rolette County18.54-5.3%
23Bottineau County18.31-8.4%
24Foster County18.18+11.7%
25Grant County17.52-6.5%
26Burke County17.38-1.9%
27Eddy County17.35+7.8%
28Burleigh County17.26+4.3%
29McLean County17.13-14.7%
30Ward County17.1-6.7%
31Pierce County17.09-4.4%
32Kidder County17.06-9.8%
33Towner County16.92-3.9%
34Morton County16.82-5.1%
35McHenry County16.79-7.4%
36Mercer County16.66-22.5%
37Oliver County16.52-11.7%
38Benson County16.47-1.8%
39Renville County16.45-6.4%
40Dunn County16.36-21.6%
41Sheridan County16.31-9.5%
42Mountrail County16.22-5%
43Bowman County15.95-13.2%
44Divide County15.57-11.7%
45Slope County14.82-20.2%
45Wells County14.82-0.6%
47Hettinger County14.55-22.5%
48Golden Valley County14.49-27.9%
49McKenzie County14.39-4.8%
50Billings County14.13-30.4%
51Stark County13.88-35.5%
52Williams County13.83+2.5%
53Adams County13.58-11.8%

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 North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015) [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 North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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 North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_dakota_2015,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015}},
  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/north-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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 North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2015
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/north-dakota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2015.
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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Rank Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Pembina County, with 24.96 inches in 2015, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Adams County, with 13.58 inches in 2015.

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 North Dakota: more rankings