Sioux City Sets Record in 2014 for Most Rainfall in a Year

Sioux City, Iowa set a record for rainfall in 2014. Through December 23, Sioux City has received 41.14 inches of precipitation breaking the old record of 41.10 inches set in 1903. Below is a graph comparing the rainfall from the top 5 years on record to the 1981-2010 normal precipitation. 2014 has been 13 inches above normal so far. Also notice that the 4th and 5th heaviest rainfalls are more than 6 inches less than the 2014 record.

**Top 5 Years for Precipitation in Sioux City**
Year	Rainfall (in.)
2014*	41.14
1903	41.10
2007	39.58
1977	35.03
1951	34.94
Normal	27.74

*Total through December 23, 2014

Below is a graph comparing the monthly rainfall from 2014 with 1903. Both years had very heavy rainfall with at least one month receiving more than 10 inches of rain. In 1903, May was the wettest month with 11.78 inches which is the wettest May on record. 2014 had two months with more than 10 inches of rainfall - June had 16.65 inches of rain which is not only a record for June but also the most for any month. August 2014 had 10.12 inches of rain which is also a record for the month.

One difference between the two years is that 1903 was wet from May through October. Each of those months were above the 1981-2010 normal rainfall with 4 of the months having at least an inch greater. In fact, during the summer (June - August), each month had around 5.5 inches of rain. Contrast that with 2014 where two months (June and August) were well above normal and two months were just above normal (July and December). The remainder of the months had below normal precipitation with March and October over an inch below normal. There was no month in 1903 that was over an inch below the 1981-2010 normal. December 1903 had the greatest precipitation deficit being 0.59 in. below the 1981-2010 normal while March 2014 was 1.62 in. below normal.

Monthly rainfall for 1903 and 2014 in Sioux City, IA

**Monthly rainfall for Sioux City, Iowa**
Month	2014	1903	Normal
January	0.19	0.06	0.62
February	0.58	0.66	0.67
March	0.38	1.85	2.00
April	2.07	2.39	2.95
May	2.03	11.78	3.74
June	16.65	5.65	3.89
July	3.61	5.57	3.44
August	10.12	5.67	3.23
September	2.79	3.06	2.96
October	1.13	3.24	2.13
November	0.41	0.96	1.31
December	1.18*	0.21	0.8
Total	41.14	41.10	27.74

* Total through December 23
Red bolded numbers denote monthly records.