Data / Rankings / Annual precipitation / Counties in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota by annual precipitation

Lincoln County had the highest annual precipitation of 66 counties in 2018, at 42.67 inches. Harding County had the lowest, at 17.17 inches. The median was 23.22 inches and the figure for South Dakota was 23.25 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest42.67Lincoln County
Lowest17.17Harding County
Median23.2266 counties
South Dakota23.25History

Map of counties, 2018

Aurora County: 24.96 inchesBeadle County: 21.53 inchesBennett County: 27.12 inchesBon Homme County: 36.71 inchesBrookings County: 32.65 inchesBrown County: 20.27 inchesBrule County: 24.31 inchesBuffalo County: 22.61 inchesButte County: 20.39 inchesCampbell County: 20.31 inchesCharles Mix County: 31.97 inchesClark County: 21.97 inchesClay County: 38.91 inchesCodington County: 23.7 inchesCorson County: 19.24 inchesCuster County: 24.93 inchesDavison County: 26.58 inchesDay County: 22.12 inchesDeuel County: 29.22 inchesDewey County: 19.43 inchesDouglas County: 29.84 inchesEdmunds County: 18.86 inchesFall River County: 21.72 inchesFaulk County: 20.23 inchesGrant County: 24.66 inchesGregory County: 30.26 inchesHaakon County: 17.84 inchesHamlin County: 24.76 inchesHand County: 24.37 inchesHanson County: 27.97 inchesHarding County: 17.17 inchesHughes County: 18.71 inchesHutchinson County: 34.42 inchesHyde County: 21.41 inchesJackson County: 21.37 inchesJerauld County: 22.75 inchesJones County: 19.15 inchesKingsbury County: 23.41 inchesLake County: 31.22 inchesLawrence County: 29.22 inchesLincoln County: 42.67 inchesLyman County: 23.04 inchesMcCook County: 33.14 inchesMcPherson County: 20.16 inchesMarshall County: 22.7 inchesMeade County: 21.44 inchesMellette County: 22.12 inchesMiner County: 25.25 inchesMinnehaha County: 37.52 inchesMoody County: 35.52 inchesOglala Lakota County: 21.46 inchesPennington County: 22.84 inchesPerkins County: 17.48 inchesPotter County: 18.93 inchesRoberts County: 23.39 inchesSanborn County: 23.77 inchesSpink County: 20.89 inchesStanley County: 17.69 inchesSully County: 17.97 inchesTodd County: 29.49 inchesTripp County: 24.95 inchesTurner County: 38.4 inchesUnion County: 39.32 inchesWalworth County: 20.93 inchesYankton County: 39.48 inchesZiebach County: 17.99 inches
  • Under 19
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  • 32 and over
inches, 2018. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

Lincoln County: 42.67 inchesLincoln County42.67Yankton County: 39.48 inchesYankton County39.48Union County: 39.32 inchesUnion County39.32Clay County: 38.91 inchesClay County38.91Turner County: 38.4 inchesTurner County38.4Minnehaha County: 37.52 inchesMinnehaha County37.52Bon Homme County: 36.71 inchesBon Homme County36.71Moody County: 35.52 inchesMoody County35.52Hutchinson County: 34.42 inchesHutchinson County34.42McCook County: 33.14 inchesMcCook County33.14Brookings County: 32.65 inchesBrookings County32.65Charles Mix County: 31.97 inchesCharles Mix County31.97Lake County: 31.22 inchesLake County31.22Gregory County: 30.26 inchesGregory County30.26Douglas County: 29.84 inchesDouglas County29.84Todd County: 29.49 inchesTodd County29.49Deuel County: 29.22 inchesDeuel County29.22Lawrence County: 29.22 inchesLawrence County29.22Hanson County: 27.97 inchesHanson County27.97Bennett County: 27.12 inchesBennett County27.12Davison County: 26.58 inchesDavison County26.58Miner County: 25.25 inchesMiner County25.25Aurora County: 24.96 inchesAurora County24.96Tripp County: 24.95 inchesTripp County24.95Custer County: 24.93 inchesCuster County24.93Hamlin County: 24.76 inchesHamlin County24.76Grant County: 24.66 inchesGrant County24.66Hand County: 24.37 inchesHand County24.37Brule County: 24.31 inchesBrule County24.31Sanborn County: 23.77 inchesSanborn County23.77Codington County: 23.7 inchesCodington County23.7Kingsbury County: 23.41 inchesKingsbury County23.41Roberts County: 23.39 inchesRoberts County23.39Lyman County: 23.04 inchesLyman County23.04Pennington County: 22.84 inchesPennington County22.84Jerauld County: 22.75 inchesJerauld County22.75Marshall County: 22.7 inchesMarshall County22.7Buffalo County: 22.61 inchesBuffalo County22.61Day County: 22.12 inchesDay County22.12Mellette County: 22.12 inchesMellette County22.12Lincoln County: 42.67 inchesLincoln County42.67Yankton County: 39.48 inchesYankton County39.48Union County: 39.32 inchesUnion County39.32Clay County: 38.91 inchesClay County38.91Turner County: 38.4 inchesTurner County38.4Minnehaha County: 37.52 inchesMinnehaha County37.52Bon Homme County: 36.71 inchesBon Homme County36.71Moody County: 35.52 inchesMoody County35.52Hutchinson County: 34.42 inchesHutchinson County34.42McCook County: 33.14 inchesMcCook County33.14Brookings County: 32.65 inchesBrookings County32.65Charles Mix County: 31.97 inchesCharles Mix County31.97Lake County: 31.22 inchesLake County31.22Gregory County: 30.26 inchesGregory County30.26Douglas County: 29.84 inchesDouglas County29.84Todd County: 29.49 inchesTodd County29.49Deuel County: 29.22 inchesDeuel County29.22Lawrence County: 29.22 inchesLawrence County29.22Hanson County: 27.97 inchesHanson County27.97Bennett County: 27.12 inchesBennett County27.12Davison County: 26.58 inchesDavison County26.58Miner County: 25.25 inchesMiner County25.25Aurora County: 24.96 inchesAurora County24.96Tripp County: 24.95 inchesTripp County24.95Custer County: 24.93 inchesCuster County24.93Hamlin County: 24.76 inchesHamlin County24.76Grant County: 24.66 inchesGrant County24.66Hand County: 24.37 inchesHand County24.37Brule County: 24.31 inchesBrule County24.31Sanborn County: 23.77 inchesSanborn County23.77Codington County: 23.7 inchesCodington County23.7Kingsbury County: 23.41 inchesKingsbury County23.41Roberts County: 23.39 inchesRoberts County23.39Lyman County: 23.04 inchesLyman County23.04Pennington County: 22.84 inchesPennington County22.84Jerauld County: 22.75 inchesJerauld County22.75Marshall County: 22.7 inchesMarshall County22.7Buffalo County: 22.61 inchesBuffalo County22.61Day County: 22.12 inchesDay County22.12Mellette County: 22.12 inchesMellette County22.12
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
inches		Change on 2017
1Lincoln County42.67+54.8%
2Yankton County39.48+45.5%
3Union County39.32+32.1%
4Clay County38.91+34.6%
5Turner County38.4+44.4%
6Minnehaha County37.52+55.8%
7Bon Homme County36.71+38.3%
8Moody County35.52+38.9%
9Hutchinson County34.42+43.8%
10McCook County33.14+42.2%
11Brookings County32.65+19.5%
12Charles Mix County31.97+37.2%
13Lake County31.22+28.4%
14Gregory County30.26+31.1%
15Douglas County29.84+35.6%
16Todd County29.49+42.3%
17Deuel County29.22+5.3%
17Lawrence County29.22+40.3%
19Hanson County27.97+24.3%
20Bennett County27.12+35%
21Davison County26.58+15.9%
22Miner County25.25+2.2%
23Aurora County24.96+21.5%
24Tripp County24.95+18.6%
25Custer County24.93+48.3%
26Hamlin County24.76-5.4%
27Grant County24.66-4.7%
28Hand County24.37+34.6%
29Brule County24.31+30.5%
30Sanborn County23.77+0.5%
31Codington County23.7-3.7%
32Kingsbury County23.41-10.4%
33Roberts County23.39+11.3%
34Lyman County23.04+33%
35Pennington County22.84+63%
36Jerauld County22.75+11.4%
37Marshall County22.7+22%
38Buffalo County22.61+29.3%
39Day County22.12+19.1%
39Mellette County22.12+18.5%
41Clark County21.97-4.4%
42Fall River County21.72+42.5%
43Beadle County21.53-2.4%
44Oglala Lakota County21.46+26.5%
45Meade County21.44+80%
46Hyde County21.41+30.9%
47Jackson County21.37+38.9%
48Walworth County20.93+25.3%
49Spink County20.89+12.2%
50Butte County20.39+57.2%
51Campbell County20.31+38.2%
52Brown County20.27+34.1%
53Faulk County20.23+22.2%
54McPherson County20.16+26.4%
55Dewey County19.43+42%
56Corson County19.24+49.7%
57Jones County19.15+28.8%
58Potter County18.93+14.1%
59Edmunds County18.86+17.7%
60Hughes County18.71+19.6%
61Ziebach County17.99+46%
62Sully County17.97+19.6%
63Haakon County17.84+40.1%
64Stanley County17.69+39.4%
65Perkins County17.48+78.4%
66Harding County17.17+30.4%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_south_dakota_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/south-dakota-counties?period=2018.
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?

Lincoln County, with 42.67 inches in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Harding County, with 17.17 inches in 2018.

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