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South Dakota rankings · Climate

Wettest towns in South Dakota

Ranked by rain and melted snow in a normal year, 1991–2020, from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for each town. Neighboring towns on the same 5 km grid square have the same numbers, so each square is listed once, under its largest town. 37 towns with 2,500+ residents.

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Java has fewer than 2,500 residents, the floor for SD lists.

#1
Lead31 in · Wettest month May
D
#2
Dakota Dunes29 in · Wettest month June
#3
Harrisburg29 in · Wettest month June

All 37 towns

Rain + melted snow, highest first.

#TownRain + melted snowWettest monthSnow a year
1 Lead3,006 people 31 in May184 in
2 Dakota Dunes3,936 people 29 in June36 in
3 Harrisburg8,519 people 29 in June49 in
4 North Sioux City3,045 people 29 in June36 in
5 Canton3,033 people 29 in June36 in
6 Big SiouxUnion County · 4,917 people 29 in June36 in
7 Sioux Falls201,469 people 29 in June49 in
8 Tea6,786 people 29 in June49 in
9 Split RockMinnehaha County · 3,143 people 28 in June49 in
10 Elk Point2,537 people 28 in June36 in
11 Vermillion11,878 people 28 in June36 in
12 Brandon10,996 people 28 in June49 in
13 Yankton15,540 people 28 in June38 in
14 Hartford3,478 people 28 in June40 in
15 Dell Rapids3,905 people 27 in June40 in
16 Brookings23,948 people 27 in June36 in
17 Madison6,094 people 27 in June37 in
18 Milbank3,525 people 25 in June32 in
19 Mitchell15,649 people 25 in June41 in
20 Watertown23,044 people 25 in June41 in
21 Spearfish12,930 people 25 in May71 in
22 Sisseton2,670 people 24 in June48 in
23 Huron14,385 people 23 in June44 in
24 Chamberlain2,588 people 23 in June43 in
25 Sturgis7,086 people 22 in May48 in
26 Winner2,905 people 22 in June49 in
27 Aberdeen28,189 people 22 in June43 in
28 Summerset3,022 people 21 in May36 in
29 Blackhawk2,934 people 20 in May36 in
30 Colonial Pine Hills2,609 people 20 in May36 in
31 Rapid City77,946 people 19 in May36 in
32 Pierre13,948 people 19 in June37 in
33 Belle Fourche5,804 people 19 in May42 in
34 Box Elder12,902 people 19 in May49 in
35 Rapid Valley6,975 people 19 in May49 in
36 Hot Springs3,548 people 18 in May32 in
37 Mobridge2,932 people 18 in June36 in
How it works

How this ranking works

The SD list, with the map →

We rank every town by rain and melted snow in a normal year, 1991–2020, from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for each town. The town with the highest figure ranks #1. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast, and each town’s Climate page shows its whole year month by month.

Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded normals, about 5 km (3 miles) square, read at each town’s center, so hills and coastlines are built in. Towns whose centers fall in the same square have the same numbers, so only the largest of them is listed.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Climate: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

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