These 5 Massachusetts Counties See the Most Precipitation in the State

As we saw all throughout Thursday (July 31st), Massachusetts can receive its fair share of precipitation on any given day no matter what season it is. It could be through rain, snow, sleet, hail, or some bizarre wintry mix. We get to see it all on a yearly basis in the New England region. But in the Bay State, what are the areas that see the most precipitation?

While climate change and the atmospheric circulation are huge factors that causes the air to become rich with moisture and create storm systems that drop plenty of precipitation on us, before we dive too far into the meteorology of it all, let's find out what the National Centers for Environmental Information says. After all, it's their research that found exactly where in Massachusetts that we get the most precipitation, which is a much fancier way of saying 'where it's the wettest'.

They ranked counties by five-year precipitation averages to determine the rankings in their research. They also compared data from the past year to averages from 1901 to 2000. From those categories, it's pretty telling in narrowing it down to where the wettest counties are in Massachusetts. So let's find out, counting down from...

• #5 Hampshire County

Over the past five years, they had 51.30 inches of precipitation on average per year.
During the past year, their average was 46.22 inches, which suggests the previous four must have been much rougher. Their precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average is 0.52 inches above the norm.

• #4 Worcester County

In the past five years, they had 51.99 inches of precipitation on average per year.
During the past year, their average was 44.71 inches, which says the previous four years must have been a little brutal. Their precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average is 0.25 inches above the norm.

• #3 Hampden County

In the past five years, they had 52.25 inches of precipitation on average per year.
During the past year, their average was 47.94 inches, which doesn't seem like too much of lower stretch from that five-year average. Their precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average is 1.66 inches above the norm. It seems to be getting wetter there.

• #2 Norfolk County

In the past five years, they had 52.77 inches of precipitation on average per year.
During the past year, their average was 42.17 inches, which is way less than that five-year average. Their precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average is 2.76 inches below the norm. Perhaps things are becoming a bit dry in Norfolk County.

• #1 Plymouth County

In the past five years, they had 52.78 inches of precipitation on average per year.
During the past year, their average was 47.26 inches, which is not too much of a stretch lower than their recent five-year average. Their precipitation compared to 1901-2000 average is 2.26 inches above the norm. Things are getting wetter in Plymouth County at a pretty good rate. Hence, it's probably one of the reasons it took the top spot.

And there they are, the five counties that see the most precipitation in all of Massachusetts. In case you are wondering where Berkshire County finished, we ended up at #9 on the list overall with a recent average of 49.43 inches of precipitation annually. In the meantime, do what you can to stay dry and stay safe, Massachusetts!