Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Moody County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2015, at 31.13 inches. Perkins County had the lowest, at 17.32 inches. The median was 24.08 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 22.78 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest31.13Moody County
Lowest17.32Perkins County
Median24.0866 counties
South Dakota22.78History

Map of counties, 2015

Aurora County: 25.29 inchesBeadle County: 24.52 inchesBennett County: 26.21 inchesBon Homme County: 29.42 inchesBrookings County: 27.96 inchesBrown County: 21.43 inchesBrule County: 25.75 inchesBuffalo County: 23.28 inchesButte County: 19.78 inchesCampbell County: 19.54 inchesCharles Mix County: 26.56 inchesClark County: 22.56 inchesClay County: 29.99 inchesCodington County: 24.18 inchesCorson County: 19.18 inchesCuster County: 23.97 inchesDavison County: 26.04 inchesDay County: 21.84 inchesDeuel County: 28.17 inchesDewey County: 19.04 inchesDouglas County: 26.06 inchesEdmunds County: 20.92 inchesFall River County: 22.4 inchesFaulk County: 21.18 inchesGrant County: 23.89 inchesGregory County: 25.71 inchesHaakon County: 21.39 inchesHamlin County: 26.48 inchesHand County: 24.27 inchesHanson County: 25.27 inchesHarding County: 17.77 inchesHughes County: 19.77 inchesHutchinson County: 27.97 inchesHyde County: 21.72 inchesJackson County: 24.63 inchesJerauld County: 26.36 inchesJones County: 22.46 inchesKingsbury County: 25.34 inchesLake County: 25.89 inchesLawrence County: 28.22 inchesLincoln County: 30.59 inchesLyman County: 21.59 inchesMcCook County: 25.13 inchesMcPherson County: 21.04 inchesMarshall County: 19.78 inchesMeade County: 22.21 inchesMellette County: 22.94 inchesMiner County: 23.61 inchesMinnehaha County: 29.65 inchesMoody County: 31.13 inchesOglala Lakota County: 24.57 inchesPennington County: 24.55 inchesPerkins County: 17.32 inchesPotter County: 20.51 inchesRoberts County: 20.66 inchesSanborn County: 25.65 inchesSpink County: 21.61 inchesStanley County: 19.83 inchesSully County: 19.19 inchesTodd County: 24.6 inchesTripp County: 22.88 inchesTurner County: 28.61 inchesUnion County: 29.97 inchesWalworth County: 21.44 inchesYankton County: 28.93 inchesZiebach County: 18.25 inches
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 22
  • 22 to 24
  • 24 to 25
  • 25 to 28
  • 28 and over
inches, 2015. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Moody County: 31.13 inchesMoody County31.13Lincoln County: 30.59 inchesLincoln County30.59Clay County: 29.99 inchesClay County29.99Union County: 29.97 inchesUnion County29.97Minnehaha County: 29.65 inchesMinnehaha County29.65Bon Homme County: 29.42 inchesBon Homme County29.42Yankton County: 28.93 inchesYankton County28.93Turner County: 28.61 inchesTurner County28.61Lawrence County: 28.22 inchesLawrence County28.22Deuel County: 28.17 inchesDeuel County28.17Hutchinson County: 27.97 inchesHutchinson County27.97Brookings County: 27.96 inchesBrookings County27.96Charles Mix County: 26.56 inchesCharles Mix County26.56Hamlin County: 26.48 inchesHamlin County26.48Jerauld County: 26.36 inchesJerauld County26.36Bennett County: 26.21 inchesBennett County26.21Douglas County: 26.06 inchesDouglas County26.06Davison County: 26.04 inchesDavison County26.04Lake County: 25.89 inchesLake County25.89Brule County: 25.75 inchesBrule County25.75Gregory County: 25.71 inchesGregory County25.71Sanborn County: 25.65 inchesSanborn County25.65Kingsbury County: 25.34 inchesKingsbury County25.34Aurora County: 25.29 inchesAurora County25.29Hanson County: 25.27 inchesHanson County25.27McCook County: 25.13 inchesMcCook County25.13Jackson County: 24.63 inchesJackson County24.63Todd County: 24.6 inchesTodd County24.6Oglala Lakota County: 24.57 inchesOglala Lakota County24.57Pennington County: 24.55 inchesPennington County24.55Beadle County: 24.52 inchesBeadle County24.52Hand County: 24.27 inchesHand County24.27Codington County: 24.18 inchesCodington County24.18Custer County: 23.97 inchesCuster County23.97Grant County: 23.89 inchesGrant County23.89Miner County: 23.61 inchesMiner County23.61Buffalo County: 23.28 inchesBuffalo County23.28Mellette County: 22.94 inchesMellette County22.94Tripp County: 22.88 inchesTripp County22.88Clark County: 22.56 inchesClark County22.56Moody County: 31.13 inchesMoody County31.13Lincoln County: 30.59 inchesLincoln County30.59Clay County: 29.99 inchesClay County29.99Union County: 29.97 inchesUnion County29.97Minnehaha County: 29.65 inchesMinnehaha County29.65Bon Homme County: 29.42 inchesBon Homme County29.42Yankton County: 28.93 inchesYankton County28.93Turner County: 28.61 inchesTurner County28.61Lawrence County: 28.22 inchesLawrence County28.22Deuel County: 28.17 inchesDeuel County28.17Hutchinson County: 27.97 inchesHutchinson County27.97Brookings County: 27.96 inchesBrookings County27.96Charles Mix County: 26.56 inchesCharles Mix County26.56Hamlin County: 26.48 inchesHamlin County26.48Jerauld County: 26.36 inchesJerauld County26.36Bennett County: 26.21 inchesBennett County26.21Douglas County: 26.06 inchesDouglas County26.06Davison County: 26.04 inchesDavison County26.04Lake County: 25.89 inchesLake County25.89Brule County: 25.75 inchesBrule County25.75Gregory County: 25.71 inchesGregory County25.71Sanborn County: 25.65 inchesSanborn County25.65Kingsbury County: 25.34 inchesKingsbury County25.34Aurora County: 25.29 inchesAurora County25.29Hanson County: 25.27 inchesHanson County25.27McCook County: 25.13 inchesMcCook County25.13Jackson County: 24.63 inchesJackson County24.63Todd County: 24.6 inchesTodd County24.6Oglala Lakota County: 24.57 inchesOglala Lakota County24.57Pennington County: 24.55 inchesPennington County24.55Beadle County: 24.52 inchesBeadle County24.52Hand County: 24.27 inchesHand County24.27Codington County: 24.18 inchesCodington County24.18Custer County: 23.97 inchesCuster County23.97Grant County: 23.89 inchesGrant County23.89Miner County: 23.61 inchesMiner County23.61Buffalo County: 23.28 inchesBuffalo County23.28Mellette County: 22.94 inchesMellette County22.94Tripp County: 22.88 inchesTripp County22.88Clark County: 22.56 inchesClark County22.56
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
1Moody County31.13+27%
2Lincoln County30.59-2.3%
3Clay County29.99+4%
4Union County29.97+2.8%
5Minnehaha County29.65+11.1%
6Bon Homme County29.42+32.5%
7Yankton County28.93+10.5%
8Turner County28.61+12%
9Lawrence County28.22+3.1%
10Deuel County28.17+18.8%
11Hutchinson County27.97+26.8%
12Brookings County27.96+14.2%
13Charles Mix County26.56+23.2%
14Hamlin County26.48+26.1%
15Jerauld County26.36+56.3%
16Bennett County26.21+10.8%
17Douglas County26.06+17.9%
18Davison County26.04+21.7%
19Lake County25.89+13.9%
20Brule County25.75+34.6%
21Gregory County25.71+29.7%
22Sanborn County25.65+54.6%
23Kingsbury County25.34+22.2%
24Aurora County25.29+26.5%
25Hanson County25.27+19.3%
26McCook County25.13+13.9%
27Jackson County24.63+23.1%
28Todd County24.6+6.4%
29Oglala Lakota County24.57+0.2%
30Pennington County24.55+22%
31Beadle County24.52+54.3%
32Hand County24.27+46.5%
33Codington County24.18+25%
34Custer County23.97+10.4%
35Grant County23.89-0.7%
36Miner County23.61+23.1%
37Buffalo County23.28+34.9%
38Mellette County22.94+15.7%
39Tripp County22.88+25.9%
40Clark County22.56+25.1%
41Jones County22.46+21.9%
42Fall River County22.4+8.6%
43Meade County22.21+14.4%
44Day County21.84+18.6%
45Hyde County21.72+39.4%
46Spink County21.61+32.7%
47Lyman County21.59+26.4%
48Walworth County21.44+12.5%
49Brown County21.43+14.1%
50Haakon County21.39+16.6%
51Faulk County21.18+31.1%
52McPherson County21.04+12.5%
53Edmunds County20.92+19.9%
54Roberts County20.66-8%
55Potter County20.51+20.8%
56Stanley County19.83+9.2%
57Butte County19.78+11.5%
57Marshall County19.78-1.1%
59Hughes County19.77+25%
60Campbell County19.54+5.6%
61Sully County19.19+17.9%
62Corson County19.18-11.2%
63Dewey County19.04-15.5%
64Ziebach County18.25-18.8%
65Harding County17.77-9.2%
66Perkins County17.32-10.1%

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 South 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 South 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/south-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 South 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/south-dakota-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in South 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/south-dakota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2015,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in South 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/south-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 South 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/south-dakota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-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 South Dakota by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Moody County, with 31.13 inches in 2015, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Perkins County, with 17.32 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 South Dakota: more rankings