Counties in Virginia by annual precipitation

Lee County had the highest annual precipitation of 132 counties in 2017, at 51.57 inches. Shenandoah County had the lowest, at 31.94 inches. The median was 40.65 inches and the figure for Virginia was 41.56 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest51.57Lee County
Median40.65132 counties
Virginia41.56History

Map of counties, 2017

Accomack County: 47.94 inchesAlbemarle County: 36.73 inchesAlleghany County: 39.78 inchesAmelia County: 39.55 inchesAmherst County: 39.68 inchesAppomattox County: 36.43 inchesArlington County: 38 inchesAugusta County: 38.78 inchesBath County: 40.43 inchesBedford County: 40.68 inchesBland County: 44.21 inchesBotetourt County: 40.22 inchesBrunswick County: 39.48 inchesBuchanan County: 48.82 inchesBuckingham County: 36.57 inchesCampbell County: 36.07 inchesCaroline County: 39.55 inchesCarroll County: 49.32 inchesCharles City County: 43.05 inchesCharlotte County: 38.19 inchesChesterfield County: 41.03 inchesClarke County: 39.57 inchesCraig County: 41.03 inchesCulpeper County: 34.21 inchesCumberland County: 37.12 inchesDickenson County: 48.66 inchesDinwiddie County: 42.51 inchesEssex County: 38.75 inchesFairfax County: 36.91 inchesFauquier County: 38.36 inchesFloyd County: 45.33 inchesFluvanna County: 35.74 inchesFranklin County: 41.45 inchesFrederick County: 39.04 inchesGiles County: 43.33 inchesGloucester County: 44.39 inchesGoochland County: 36.54 inchesGrayson County: 51.42 inchesGreene County: 38.4 inchesGreensville County: 41.57 inchesHalifax County: 40.62 inchesHanover County: 39.54 inchesHenrico County: 40.42 inchesHenry County: 47.56 inchesHighland County: 40.76 inchesIsle of Wight County: 44.99 inchesJames City County: 44.33 inchesKing and Queen County: 41.15 inchesKing George County: 37.31 inchesKing William County: 40.88 inchesLancaster County: 42.07 inchesLee County: 51.57 inchesLoudoun County: 41.8 inchesLouisa County: 34.88 inchesLunenburg County: 38.99 inchesMadison County: 36.26 inchesMathews County: 45.59 inchesMecklenburg County: 41.21 inchesMiddlesex County: 42.91 inchesMontgomery County: 41.02 inchesNelson County: 38.29 inchesNew Kent County: 42.36 inchesNorthampton County: 48.51 inchesNorthumberland County: 39.35 inchesNottoway County: 38.78 inchesOrange County: 34.92 inchesPage County: 34 inchesPatrick County: 50.91 inchesPittsylvania County: 43.57 inchesPowhatan County: 38.09 inchesPrince Edward County: 38.13 inchesPrince George County: 44.69 inchesPrince William County: 36.68 inchesPulaski County: 43.04 inchesRappahannock County: 33.21 inchesRichmond County: 38.2 inchesRoanoke County: 40.06 inchesRockbridge County: 39.04 inchesRockingham County: 38.91 inchesRussell County: 48.67 inchesScott County: 49.4 inchesShenandoah County: 31.94 inchesSmyth County: 49.73 inchesSouthampton County: 45.29 inchesSpotsylvania County: 36.78 inchesStafford County: 35.55 inchesSurry County: 45.46 inchesSussex County: 45.54 inchesTazewell County: 48.59 inchesWarren County: 34.53 inchesWashington County: 48 inchesWestmoreland County: 37.34 inchesWise County: 51.37 inchesWythe County: 46.04 inchesYork County: 45.25 inchesAlexandria city: 37.48 inchesBristol city: 46.45 inchesBuena Vista city: 37.23 inchesCharlottesville city: 36.45 inchesChesapeake city: 46.59 inchesColonial Heights city: 42.83 inchesCovington city: 38.03 inchesDanville city: 45.66 inchesEmporia city: 40.82 inchesFairfax city: 36.37 inchesFalls Church city: 37.11 inchesFranklin city: 44.26 inchesFredericksburg city: 36.46 inchesGalax city: 49.3 inchesHampton city: 46.78 inchesHarrisonburg city: 38.89 inchesHopewell city: 43.11 inchesLynchburg city: 37.64 inchesManassas city: 36.91 inchesManassas Park city: 36.4 inchesMartinsville city: 48.68 inchesNewport News city: 46.26 inchesNorfolk city: 47.56 inchesNorton city: 50.82 inchesPetersburg city: 43.96 inchesPoquoson city: 46.56 inchesPortsmouth city: 46.97 inchesRadford city: 41.42 inchesRichmond city: 40.36 inchesRoanoke city: 39.05 inchesSalem city: 39.03 inchesStaunton city: 36.57 inchesSuffolk city: 44.56 inchesVirginia Beach city: 46.35 inchesWaynesboro city: 36.7 inchesWilliamsburg city: 44.5 inchesWinchester city: 39.76 inches
  • Under 37
  • 37 to 39
  • 39 to 41
  • 41 to 43
  • 43 to 47
  • 47 and over
  • No data
inches, 2017. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Lee County: 51.57 inchesLee County51.57Grayson County: 51.42 inchesGrayson County51.42Wise County: 51.37 inchesWise County51.37Patrick County: 50.91 inchesPatrick County50.91Norton city: 50.82 inchesNorton city50.82Smyth County: 49.73 inchesSmyth County49.73Scott County: 49.4 inchesScott County49.4Carroll County: 49.32 inchesCarroll County49.32Galax city: 49.3 inchesGalax city49.3Buchanan County: 48.82 inchesBuchanan County48.82Martinsville city: 48.68 inchesMartinsville city48.68Russell County: 48.67 inchesRussell County48.67Dickenson County: 48.66 inchesDickenson County48.66Tazewell County: 48.59 inchesTazewell County48.59Northampton County: 48.51 inchesNorthampton County48.51Washington County: 48 inchesWashington County48Accomack County: 47.94 inchesAccomack County47.94Henry County: 47.56 inchesHenry County47.56Norfolk city: 47.56 inchesNorfolk city47.56Portsmouth city: 46.97 inchesPortsmouth city46.97Hampton city: 46.78 inchesHampton city46.78Chesapeake city: 46.59 inchesChesapeake city46.59Poquoson city: 46.56 inchesPoquoson city46.56Bristol city: 46.45 inchesBristol city46.45Virginia Beach city: 46.35 inchesVirginia Beach city46.35Newport News city: 46.26 inchesNewport News city46.26Wythe County: 46.04 inchesWythe County46.04Danville city: 45.66 inchesDanville city45.66Mathews County: 45.59 inchesMathews County45.59Sussex County: 45.54 inchesSussex County45.54Surry County: 45.46 inchesSurry County45.46Floyd County: 45.33 inchesFloyd County45.33Southampton County: 45.29 inchesSouthampton County45.29York County: 45.25 inchesYork County45.25Isle of Wight County: 44.99 inchesIsle of Wight County44.99Prince George County: 44.69 inchesPrince George County44.69Suffolk city: 44.56 inchesSuffolk city44.56Williamsburg city: 44.5 inchesWilliamsburg city44.5Gloucester County: 44.39 inchesGloucester County44.39James City County: 44.33 inchesJames City County44.33Lee County: 51.57 inchesLee County51.57Grayson County: 51.42 inchesGrayson County51.42Wise County: 51.37 inchesWise County51.37Patrick County: 50.91 inchesPatrick County50.91Norton city: 50.82 inchesNorton city50.82Smyth County: 49.73 inchesSmyth County49.73Scott County: 49.4 inchesScott County49.4Carroll County: 49.32 inchesCarroll County49.32Galax city: 49.3 inchesGalax city49.3Buchanan County: 48.82 inchesBuchanan County48.82Martinsville city: 48.68 inchesMartinsville city48.68Russell County: 48.67 inchesRussell County48.67Dickenson County: 48.66 inchesDickenson County48.66Tazewell County: 48.59 inchesTazewell County48.59Northampton County: 48.51 inchesNorthampton County48.51Washington County: 48 inchesWashington County48Accomack County: 47.94 inchesAccomack County47.94Henry County: 47.56 inchesHenry County47.56Norfolk city: 47.56 inchesNorfolk city47.56Portsmouth city: 46.97 inchesPortsmouth city46.97Hampton city: 46.78 inchesHampton city46.78Chesapeake city: 46.59 inchesChesapeake city46.59Poquoson city: 46.56 inchesPoquoson city46.56Bristol city: 46.45 inchesBristol city46.45Virginia Beach city: 46.35 inchesVirginia Beach city46.35Newport News city: 46.26 inchesNewport News city46.26Wythe County: 46.04 inchesWythe County46.04Danville city: 45.66 inchesDanville city45.66Mathews County: 45.59 inchesMathews County45.59Sussex County: 45.54 inchesSussex County45.54Surry County: 45.46 inchesSurry County45.46Floyd County: 45.33 inchesFloyd County45.33Southampton County: 45.29 inchesSouthampton County45.29York County: 45.25 inchesYork County45.25Isle of Wight County: 44.99 inchesIsle of Wight County44.99Prince George County: 44.69 inchesPrince George County44.69Suffolk city: 44.56 inchesSuffolk city44.56Williamsburg city: 44.5 inchesWilliamsburg city44.5Gloucester County: 44.39 inchesGloucester County44.39James City County: 44.33 inchesJames City County44.33
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
inches
Change on 2016
1Lee County51.57+10.3%
2Grayson County51.42+21.5%
3Wise County51.37+13.8%
4Patrick County50.91+9.2%
5Norton city50.82+15.1%
6Smyth County49.73+19.7%
7Scott County49.4+16.2%
8Carroll County49.32+11.8%
9Galax city49.3+13.6%
10Buchanan County48.82+2.9%
11Martinsville city48.68+17.2%
12Russell County48.67+16.3%
13Dickenson County48.66+11.4%
14Tazewell County48.59+11%
15Northampton County48.51-14.4%
16Washington County48+16.5%
17Accomack County47.94-14.6%
18Henry County47.56+9.3%
18Norfolk city47.56-26.7%
20Portsmouth city46.97-27.2%
21Hampton city46.78-24.6%
22Chesapeake city46.59-25.7%
23Poquoson city46.56-22.7%
24Bristol city46.45+16.4%
25Virginia Beach city46.35-23.6%
26Newport News city46.26-21.6%
27Wythe County46.04+20.1%
28Danville city45.66-10.1%
29Mathews County45.59-14.2%
30Sussex County45.54-8.4%
31Surry County45.46-10.4%
32Floyd County45.33+0.1%
33Southampton County45.29-18.1%
34York County45.25-17%
35Isle of Wight County44.99-21.6%
36Prince George County44.69-11.9%
37Suffolk city44.56-27.9%
38Williamsburg city44.5-12.5%
39Gloucester County44.39-14.6%
40James City County44.33-13%
41Franklin city44.26-22.3%
42Bland County44.21+12.4%
43Petersburg city43.96-13.2%
44Pittsylvania County43.57-11.4%
45Giles County43.33+1.5%
46Hopewell city43.11-17.4%
47Charles City County43.05-16.5%
48Pulaski County43.04+8.2%
49Middlesex County42.91-13.7%
50Colonial Heights city42.83-16.1%
51Dinwiddie County42.51-10.2%
52New Kent County42.36-18.5%
53Lancaster County42.07-12.6%
54Loudoun County41.8+10.7%
55Greensville County41.57-17.9%
56Franklin County41.45-9.5%
57Radford city41.42+1.9%
58Mecklenburg County41.21-15.9%
59King and Queen County41.15-17.4%
60Chesterfield County41.03-17.5%
60Craig County41.03-12.3%
62Montgomery County41.02-3.4%
63King William County40.88-20%
64Emporia city40.82-17.4%
65Highland County40.76-9.2%
66Bedford County40.68-13.7%
67Halifax County40.62-14.9%
68Bath County40.43-14.6%
69Henrico County40.42-21.3%
70Richmond city40.36-20.9%
71Botetourt County40.22-13.4%
72Roanoke County40.06-12.7%
73Alleghany County39.78-17.6%
74Winchester city39.76-0.1%
75Amherst County39.68-16.9%
76Clarke County39.57+1.7%
77Amelia County39.55-13.7%
77Caroline County39.55-14.9%
79Hanover County39.54-20%
80Brunswick County39.48-16.1%
81Northumberland County39.35-9%
82Roanoke city39.05-14.8%
83Frederick County39.04+1.3%
83Rockbridge County39.04-13%
85Salem city39.03-13.9%
86Lunenburg County38.99-16.4%
87Rockingham County38.91-2.4%
88Harrisonburg city38.89-1.4%
89Augusta County38.78-7%
89Nottoway County38.78-12.5%
91Essex County38.75-16.8%
92Greene County38.4+1.5%
93Fauquier County38.36-5.4%
94Nelson County38.29-12.1%
95Richmond County38.2-14.3%
96Charlotte County38.19-20.6%
97Prince Edward County38.13-13.5%
98Powhatan County38.09-18.2%
99Covington city38.03-19.5%
100Arlington County38+9.8%
101Lynchburg city37.64-18.7%
102Alexandria city37.48+9.2%
103Westmoreland County37.34-11.2%
104King George County37.31-13.5%
105Buena Vista city37.23-14.9%
106Cumberland County37.12-13.2%
107Falls Church city37.11+7.7%
108Fairfax County36.91+6.8%
108Manassas city36.91+7.8%
110Spotsylvania County36.78-12.1%
111Albemarle County36.73-1.5%
112Waynesboro city36.7-2.5%
113Prince William County36.68+0.2%
114Buckingham County36.57-13.6%
114Staunton city36.57-6.8%
116Goochland County36.54-19%
117Fredericksburg city36.46-14.9%
118Charlottesville city36.45-3.6%
119Appomattox County36.43-18.6%
120Manassas Park city36.4+6.8%
121Fairfax city36.37+7.1%
122Madison County36.26-6.6%
123Campbell County36.07-21.8%
124Fluvanna County35.74-11.4%
125Stafford County35.55-14.8%
126Orange County34.92-2.3%
127Louisa County34.88-12.3%
128Warren County34.53-17.1%
129Culpeper County34.21-9.4%
130Page County34-18.8%
131Rappahannock County33.21-18.6%
132Shenandoah County31.94-18.2%

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 Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017) [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 Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017. 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/virginia-counties?period=2017. 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 Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017. 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/virginia-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/virginia-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_virginia_by_2017,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=2017. 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 Virginia by annual precipitation, 2017
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/virginia-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/virginia-counties?period=2017.
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 Virginia by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Lee County, with 51.57 inches in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Shenandoah County, with 31.94 inches in 2017.

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 Virginia: more rankings