Counties in North Dakota by annual precipitation

Pembina County had the highest annual precipitation of 53 counties in 2016, at 30.26 inches. Adams County had the lowest, at 13.09 inches. The median was 21.62 inches and the figure for North Dakota was 21.85 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest30.26Pembina County
Lowest13.09Adams County
Median21.6253 counties
North Dakota21.85History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 13.09 inchesBarnes County: 26.53 inchesBenson County: 20.96 inchesBillings County: 16.98 inchesBottineau County: 22.02 inchesBowman County: 14.6 inchesBurke County: 22.4 inchesBurleigh County: 21.31 inchesCass County: 24.25 inchesCavalier County: 27.28 inchesDickey County: 28.59 inchesDivide County: 18.39 inchesDunn County: 20.41 inchesEddy County: 21.62 inchesEmmons County: 21.18 inchesFoster County: 22.2 inchesGolden Valley County: 18.61 inchesGrand Forks County: 28.02 inchesGrant County: 18.74 inchesGriggs County: 25.82 inchesHettinger County: 15.19 inchesKidder County: 23.96 inchesLaMoure County: 27.98 inchesLogan County: 26.59 inchesMcHenry County: 20.24 inchesMcIntosh County: 24.29 inchesMcKenzie County: 19.04 inchesMcLean County: 19.34 inchesMercer County: 18.98 inchesMorton County: 19.24 inchesMountrail County: 20.52 inchesNelson County: 27.1 inchesOliver County: 19.35 inchesPembina County: 30.26 inchesPierce County: 20.23 inchesRamsey County: 25.48 inchesRansom County: 25.27 inchesRenville County: 22.12 inchesRichland County: 24.46 inchesRolette County: 22.88 inchesSargent County: 24.08 inchesSheridan County: 20.59 inchesSioux County: 19.55 inchesSlope County: 15.08 inchesStark County: 15.63 inchesSteele County: 26.39 inchesStutsman County: 25.98 inchesTowner County: 22.85 inchesTraill County: 27.21 inchesWalsh County: 29.79 inchesWard County: 19.96 inchesWells County: 19.29 inchesWilliams County: 17.28 inches
  • Under 19
  • 19 to 20
  • 20 to 22
  • 22 to 24
  • 24 to 27
  • 27 and over
inches, 2016. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2016

Pembina County: 30.26 inchesPembina County30.26Walsh County: 29.79 inchesWalsh County29.79Dickey County: 28.59 inchesDickey County28.59Grand Forks County: 28.02 inchesGrand Forks County28.02LaMoure County: 27.98 inchesLaMoure County27.98Cavalier County: 27.28 inchesCavalier County27.28Traill County: 27.21 inchesTraill County27.21Nelson County: 27.1 inchesNelson County27.1Logan County: 26.59 inchesLogan County26.59Barnes County: 26.53 inchesBarnes County26.53Steele County: 26.39 inchesSteele County26.39Stutsman County: 25.98 inchesStutsman County25.98Griggs County: 25.82 inchesGriggs County25.82Ramsey County: 25.48 inchesRamsey County25.48Ransom County: 25.27 inchesRansom County25.27Richland County: 24.46 inchesRichland County24.46McIntosh County: 24.29 inchesMcIntosh County24.29Cass County: 24.25 inchesCass County24.25Sargent County: 24.08 inchesSargent County24.08Kidder County: 23.96 inchesKidder County23.96Rolette County: 22.88 inchesRolette County22.88Towner County: 22.85 inchesTowner County22.85Burke County: 22.4 inchesBurke County22.4Foster County: 22.2 inchesFoster County22.2Renville County: 22.12 inchesRenville County22.12Bottineau County: 22.02 inchesBottineau County22.02Eddy County: 21.62 inchesEddy County21.62Burleigh County: 21.31 inchesBurleigh County21.31Emmons County: 21.18 inchesEmmons County21.18Benson County: 20.96 inchesBenson County20.96Sheridan County: 20.59 inchesSheridan County20.59Mountrail County: 20.52 inchesMountrail County20.52Dunn County: 20.41 inchesDunn County20.41McHenry County: 20.24 inchesMcHenry County20.24Pierce County: 20.23 inchesPierce County20.23Ward County: 19.96 inchesWard County19.96Sioux County: 19.55 inchesSioux County19.55Oliver County: 19.35 inchesOliver County19.35McLean County: 19.34 inchesMcLean County19.34Wells County: 19.29 inchesWells County19.29Morton County: 19.24 inchesMorton County19.24McKenzie County: 19.04 inchesMcKenzie County19.04Mercer County: 18.98 inchesMercer County18.98Grant County: 18.74 inchesGrant County18.74Golden Valley County: 18.61 inchesGolden Valley County18.61Divide County: 18.39 inchesDivide County18.39Williams County: 17.28 inchesWilliams County17.28Billings County: 16.98 inchesBillings County16.98Stark County: 15.63 inchesStark County15.63Hettinger County: 15.19 inchesHettinger County15.19Slope County: 15.08 inchesSlope County15.08Bowman County: 14.6 inchesBowman County14.6Adams County: 13.09 inchesAdams County13.09Pembina County: 30.26 inchesPembina County30.26Walsh County: 29.79 inchesWalsh County29.79Dickey County: 28.59 inchesDickey County28.59Grand Forks County: 28.02 inchesGrand Forks County28.02LaMoure County: 27.98 inchesLaMoure County27.98Cavalier County: 27.28 inchesCavalier County27.28Traill County: 27.21 inchesTraill County27.21Nelson County: 27.1 inchesNelson County27.1Logan County: 26.59 inchesLogan County26.59Barnes County: 26.53 inchesBarnes County26.53Steele County: 26.39 inchesSteele County26.39Stutsman County: 25.98 inchesStutsman County25.98Griggs County: 25.82 inchesGriggs County25.82Ramsey County: 25.48 inchesRamsey County25.48Ransom County: 25.27 inchesRansom County25.27Richland County: 24.46 inchesRichland County24.46McIntosh County: 24.29 inchesMcIntosh County24.29Cass County: 24.25 inchesCass County24.25Sargent County: 24.08 inchesSargent County24.08Kidder County: 23.96 inchesKidder County23.96Rolette County: 22.88 inchesRolette County22.88Towner County: 22.85 inchesTowner County22.85Burke County: 22.4 inchesBurke County22.4Foster County: 22.2 inchesFoster County22.2Renville County: 22.12 inchesRenville County22.12Bottineau County: 22.02 inchesBottineau County22.02Eddy County: 21.62 inchesEddy County21.62Burleigh County: 21.31 inchesBurleigh County21.31Emmons County: 21.18 inchesEmmons County21.18Benson County: 20.96 inchesBenson County20.96Sheridan County: 20.59 inchesSheridan County20.59Mountrail County: 20.52 inchesMountrail County20.52Dunn County: 20.41 inchesDunn County20.41McHenry County: 20.24 inchesMcHenry County20.24Pierce County: 20.23 inchesPierce County20.23Ward County: 19.96 inchesWard County19.96Sioux County: 19.55 inchesSioux County19.55Oliver County: 19.35 inchesOliver County19.35McLean County: 19.34 inchesMcLean County19.34Wells County: 19.29 inchesWells County19.29Morton County: 19.24 inchesMorton County19.24McKenzie County: 19.04 inchesMcKenzie County19.04Mercer County: 18.98 inchesMercer County18.98Grant County: 18.74 inchesGrant County18.74Golden Valley County: 18.61 inchesGolden Valley County18.61Divide County: 18.39 inchesDivide County18.39Williams County: 17.28 inchesWilliams County17.28Billings County: 16.98 inchesBillings County16.98Stark County: 15.63 inchesStark County15.63Hettinger County: 15.19 inchesHettinger County15.19Slope County: 15.08 inchesSlope County15.08Bowman County: 14.6 inchesBowman County14.6Adams County: 13.09 inchesAdams County13.09
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
inches
Change on 2015
1Pembina County30.26+21.2%
2Walsh County29.79+30.4%
3Dickey County28.59+35.8%
4Grand Forks County28.02+32.5%
5LaMoure County27.98+41.7%
6Cavalier County27.28+32.2%
7Traill County27.21+36.7%
8Nelson County27.1+26.6%
9Logan County26.59+37.1%
10Barnes County26.53+29.2%
11Steele County26.39+33.3%
12Stutsman County25.98+28.3%
13Griggs County25.82+24.3%
14Ramsey County25.48+35.4%
15Ransom County25.27+29.3%
16Richland County24.46+20.1%
17McIntosh County24.29+22.7%
18Cass County24.25+19.3%
19Sargent County24.08+26%
20Kidder County23.96+40.4%
21Rolette County22.88+23.4%
22Towner County22.85+35%
23Burke County22.4+28.9%
24Foster County22.2+22.1%
25Renville County22.12+34.5%
26Bottineau County22.02+20.3%
27Eddy County21.62+24.6%
28Burleigh County21.31+23.5%
29Emmons County21.18+12.1%
30Benson County20.96+27.3%
31Sheridan County20.59+26.2%
32Mountrail County20.52+26.5%
33Dunn County20.41+24.8%
34McHenry County20.24+20.5%
35Pierce County20.23+18.4%
36Ward County19.96+16.7%
37Sioux County19.55+4.8%
38Oliver County19.35+17.1%
39McLean County19.34+12.9%
40Wells County19.29+30.2%
41Morton County19.24+14.4%
42McKenzie County19.04+32.3%
43Mercer County18.98+13.9%
44Grant County18.74+7%
45Golden Valley County18.61+28.4%
46Divide County18.39+18.1%
47Williams County17.28+24.9%
48Billings County16.98+20.2%
49Stark County15.63+12.6%
50Hettinger County15.19+4.4%
51Slope County15.08+1.8%
52Bowman County14.6-8.5%
53Adams County13.09-3.6%

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 North Dakota by annual precipitation, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_north_dakota_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/north-dakota-counties?period=2016.
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 30.26 inches in 2016, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Adams County, with 13.09 inches in 2016.

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