Wettest Places in United States

Highest Precipitation

The rainiest places in the United States are found on some Hawaiian Islands and coastal Alaska. They have recorded over 200 inches (5,080 mm) of precipitation in recent years.

As the data listed below show, the most precipitation measured at a weather station in the United States from 1991 to 2020 is for Little Port Walter in Alaska. This fisheries research station stands on a remote ocean shore on Baranof Island, south of Juneau. It averages a total of 246 inches or 20.5 feet (6.2 metres) of precipitation falling as rain or snow spread over 239 days a year.

Mountain View on the east side of Hawaii's Big Island is the rainiest weather station with recent measurments in that state. At the hillside community above Hilo it normally rains 301 days a year for a total of 229 inches or 19 feet (5.8 metres) of water.

Most Extreme Yearly Rainfall

Still, none of those places come close to the rainiest spot in the United States. Mt. Waialeale on Kauai in Hawaii no longer has a weather station, but when precipitation was measured there, the amount far surpassed any other total. At Mt. Waialeale from 1931 to 1960, the rainfall averaged 460 inches (11,684 millimetres) a year. That's over 38 feet (11.6 metres) of rain.

Wettest Places

In the lower 48 states, the wettest locations are in western Washington and Oregon, all of which are much less damp than those of Hawaii and Alaska. Plenty of super soggy spots are scattered from the Pacific Coast to the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Rainfall plus snowfall in the wetter areas of this region average up to 167 inches of water a year.

Annual averages for 1991 to 2020 at select places in the United States with exceptionally high precipitation
Place Inches Milli­metres
Little Port Walter, Baranof Island, Alaska 245.7 6241
Mountain View, Big Island, Hawaii 229.1 5818
Akaka Falls Park, Big Island, Hawaii 216.7 5505
Main Bay, Alaska 206.9 5255
June Lake, Mt St Helens, Washington 166.5 4230
Quinault Rain Forest Ranger Station, Washington 151.5 3847
North Fork Bull Run River, Oregon 149.4 3796
Aberdeen Reservoir, Washington 133.9 3400
Laurel Mountain, Oregon 131.9 3350
Forks, Washington 119.9 3046
Elk River Hatchery, Port Orford, Oregon 118.3 3004
Mount Rainier, Paradise Ranger Station, Washington 116.4 2958
Humptulips, Washington 115.6 2937

Wettest Places in Other States

Nowhere else in the continental United States outside of Washington and Oregon receives more than 100 inches of precipitation on average a year. Below are precipitation totals at some of the dampest locations in other states. The list only includes a couple of places for each state which record over 70 inches on average a year.

Annual average precipitation
Place Inches Milli­metres
Gorges State Park, North Carolina 96.3 2447
Mt Washington, New Hampshire 91.2 2317
Gasquet, California 90.0 2285
Highlands, North Carolina 88.3 2242
Whitethorn, California 88.2 2241
Clatter Creek, Idaho 87.6 2224
Walhalla Fish Hatchery, South Carolina 87.3 2218
Mt LeConte, Tennessee 84.5 2146
Hardy, Mississippi 81.4 2067
Mount Mansfield Peak, Vermont 81.1 2060
Lost Lake, Lookout Mtn, Idaho 78.1 1984
Poorman Creek, Montana 74.8 1899
Caesars Head, South Carolina 74.2 1885
Germany Valley, Georgia 74.1 1882
Newfound Gap, Tennessee 73.9 1876
Mobile, Alabama 73.4 1863
Niceville, Florida 73.4 1863
Hialeah, Florida 72.9 1852
Helen, Georgia 72.7 1847
Flattop Mtn, Montana 72.4 1840
Brewton, Alabama 72.2 1833
Ocean Springs, Mississippi 71.3 1811
Thibodaux, Louisiana 71.1 1807
Bridge City, Texas 70.5 1789
Chalmette, Louisiana 70.4 1788

The precipitation records here are compiled from 15,027 weather stations in the US that contributed quality data over the 30-year-period from 1991 to 2020 for NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Most Days With Rain or Snow

This next list is a sampling of places in states where it rains or snows most often, on average at least 180 days a year. The list is selected from 9,081 weather stations that recorded the number of days with precipitation from 1991 to 2020. Days with wet weather counts the days with anything from a brief shower, when precipitation amounts to 0.01 inches (0.25 millimetres), or more.

Average number of days a year with rainfall or snowfall
Place Days
Akaka Falls Park, Big Island, Hawaii 309
Mountain View, Big Island, Hawaii 301
Hawaii Volcanoes Park Visitor Center, Hawaii  295
Ka Loko Reservoir, Kauai, Hawaii 295
Hilo Airport, Big Island, Hawaii 273
Cold Bay, Alaska 250
Port Alexander, Alaska 248
Snowshoe Mountain Resort, West Virginia 218
Mt Washington, New Hampshire 216
Forks, Washington 215
Long Beach, Washington 214
Raymond, Washington 211
Cascade Head Research Station, Otis, Oregon 205
Grayland Beach, Washington 204
Mount Mansfield Peak, Vermont 204
Sutton, Vermont 199
Davis, West Virginia 198
Colden, New York 196
Beech Mountain, North Carolina 195
Springboro, Pennsylvania 194
Heiberg Forest, Tully, New York 192
Chandlers Valley, Pennsylvania 187
First Connecticut Lake, New Hampshire 185
Otsego Lake, Michigan 181
Reference

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.

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