The Year in Rain & Snow
1988
86%
ran at 86% of normal — drier than usual — across 375 cities, the 152nd wettest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Biggest Rain Day of 1988
10.22in
Yakutat, AK · Dec 15
Snowiest Station of 1988
240.2in
Marquette County, MI · calendar-year snowfall
Records Set in 1988
Daily Rainfall Records Set
1,058
calendar-day rainfall records set in 1988 that still stand today
National Precipitation
86%
of the 1996–2025 average across 375 cities
Where the Year Ran Wet & Dry
Each city's 1988 precipitation as a percent of its 1996–2025 normal — brown where the year ran dry, green-to-blue where it ran wet.
Month by Month
Precipitation by month as a percent of normal — blue above the line is a wet month, amber below is dry.
99%J
78%F
83%M
108%A
78%M
68%J
88%J
90%A
100%S
57%O
140%N
75%D
Wettest Stations & States
Wettest Stations of 1988
| 1 | Kahului HI | 174% |
| 2 | Needles CA | 163% |
| 3 | Albuquerque NM | 157% |
| 4 | Yakutat AK | 153% |
| 5 | Delta Junction AK | 153% |
| 6 | Midland-Odessa TX | 147% |
| 7 | Homer AK | 143% |
| 8 | Kingman AZ | 135% |
| 9 | Sarasota-Bradenton FL | 134% |
| 10 | Montgomery AL | 131% |
Driest Stations of 1988
| 1 | Charlottesville VA | 36% |
| 2 | Victoria TX | 41% |
| 3 | Houston TX | 45% |
| 4 | College Station TX | 46% |
| 5 | Wichita KS | 49% |
| 6 | Asheville NC | 53% |
| 7 | Waterloo IA | 54% |
| 8 | Bismarck ND | 54% |
| 9 | Concordia KS | 54% |
| 10 | Topeka KS | 54% |
By State
Wettest states of 1988
Hawaii130%New Mexico127%Arizona114%Florida98%Alaska97%Michigan97%
Driest states of 1988
Utah61%North Dakota64%Iowa66%Kansas68%Vermont69%Illinois72%
WettestSince · browse by state · precipitation & snowfall records · NOAA/RCC-ACIS ThreadEx gauge record · part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers
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