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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.