
This is the Driest Spot in Michigan – The Only Area That Gets Less than 30 Inches of Rain Per Year
Rainfall across Michigan is just a fact of life. Being surrounded by water in the Great Lakes, its shouldn't surprise you that some is eventually going to fall across the peninsulas.
It's remarkable just how consistent that rainfall is across the state. In fact, there's just one county out of the 83 in the state that receives less than 30 inches of rain a year.
👇🏼BELOW - THESE TINY MICHIGAN COUNTIES HAVE LESS THAN 10K PEOPLE👇🏼
Check out this map that shows the average annual rainfall rates broken out county by county across America. Zooming in on the Great Lakes region, here are Michigan's totals:
According to the map's key that light green shade given to 82 of Michigan's 83 counties is an average annual rainfall between 30 and 39 inches per year. So who is that yellow outlier in the middle of the Upper Peninsula? That's Dickenson County home to Iron Mountain and Kingsford.
READ MORE: Southern Michigan Sits in the Heart of America's 'Speed Trap Zone'
So what makes Dickenson County so different? If you've ever been to Iron Mountain and its surroundings, you know that the area certainly isn't a desert.
As the map was shared on Reddit, the internet's collective braintrust had some thoughts on Dickenson County and climatology in the Upper Peninsula in general:
The UP as a whole doesn’t get a ton of rain by Midwest standards. The Lake Superior makes it weird where we get a ... ton of snow in the winter but not a ton of rain in the summer.
There’s nothing really special about Dickinson County (the one in yellow) from the rest of the UP in terms of climate (though it’s a bit warmer due to bring more inland). Only thing I could think of is if all UP counties are barely green and Dickinson county is just barely in the yellow.
These Tiny Michigan Counties Have Less than 10,000 Residents
These Short, Overlooked MIchigan Highways Exist Only to Leave the State
Gallery Credit: Google Maps Street View