# What is the Driest Day in U.S. History? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113 "2007-08-27T16:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/1 "2007-08-27T16:57:04Z")
Has there ever been a day with no rainfall anywhere in the US? What is the lowest national total ever? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/2 "2007-08-27T21:20:32Z")
I would imagine it is likely. Why would you be surprised? ---
**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/3 "2007-08-27T23:08:07Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] I would imagine it is likely. Why would you be surprised? [/QUOTE] It is hard to imagine a day where it has not rained anywhere on Hawaii or Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/4 "2007-08-27T23:11:04Z")
It would have to have occurred before Hawaii (and possibly Alaska) became states. ---
**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/5 "2007-08-27T23:13:48Z")
[QUOTE=TexasPlayboy] It is hard to imagine a day where it has not rained anywhere on Hawaii or Alaska. [/QUOTE] I should reword that to say: It has hard for me to imagine a day in Hawaii where it did not rain somehwere on the islands and on the same day there was no recorded rain anywhere on the mainland or Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/6 "2007-08-27T23:13:54Z")
Well, there was that day Mort Sahl and Bob Newhart met Steven Wright for lunch at the Four Seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/7 "2007-08-27T23:14:43Z")
I would imagine there was many a day that was dry across all of the original states. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/8 "2007-08-27T23:30:37Z")
OK, let’s say “perfectly dry” throughout what would become the lower 48 from 1776 to today. It just seems that whenever I look at a national weather map on TV, there is always SOME rain SOMEWHERE in the lower 48, even throughout the summer. I had never heard of anyone reporting a “no rain” day in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/9 "2007-08-27T23:40:43Z")
Has anybody checked the records for the dustbowl and heat wave years of 1934-'36? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/10 "2007-08-28T03:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, there was that day Mort Sahl and Bob Newhart met Steven Wright for lunch at the Four Seasons. [/QUOTE] My bet would have been on the day of Calvin Coolidge’s inaugural. ---
**Author:** ![Onan\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ce73a5/32.png) [@Onan\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onan_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/11 "2007-08-28T03:42:46Z")
Wasn’t there that day after George W. Bush got re-elected that the rain refused to fall out of pure contempt? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/12 "2007-08-28T04:09:27Z")
January 16, 1920? More serious answers - you can try checking at [http://water.weather.gov](http://water.weather.gov) (current daily data & maps, but only for a few years back) [http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html) - the information is probably somewhere in there, if you can find it. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/13 "2007-08-28T04:18:45Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Has anybody checked the records for the dustbowl and heat wave years of 1934-'36? [/QUOTE] I’d bet not. Rain has to go somewhere. Look at the current weather patterns with record drought and wildfires in parts of the country and record rainfalls in between. The two are connected, in fact, with the cold air from Canada meeting the hot air from the south and forming a stationary front that pours rain and doesn’t move. That’s what caused the recent midwestern flooding. So the extreme weather of the dustbowl is more likely to have increased rainfall elsewhere in the country than would a more moderate time. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-driest-day-in-u-s-history/417113/14 "2007-08-28T06:13:05Z")
Wasn’t the U.S. sky nearly cloud-free on Sept. 11, 2001? This has been noted by irony-mongers.