Is Nevada the driest state in the US?
Nevada is the driest state in the nation, and the only state to average less than 10 inches of rain per year. The national average is about 30 inches.
Accounting for this low precipitation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains that Nevada is located on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, which blocks much of the moisture from the Pacific Ocean from reaching the state.
Because of this natural scarcity of rainfall, along with overuse of reservoirs and hotter, dryer conditions brought on by climate change, Nevada has experienced drought in the majority of years since 2000, when the U.S. Drought Monitor began collecting data.
Winter storms have eased drought conditions over the past few months, but large reservoirs such as Lake Mead remain low and will require several good years to approach normal, according to Nevada’s State Climatologist Steph McAfee.