Seattle, Washington, has a reputation as one of the wettest cities in the United States, but it turns out it’s not even close to having the most rain in the country. In fact, the rainiest city in the U.S. is actually located in the South. To compile a list of the rainiest cities in the country, the National Centers for Environmental Information made a list of the 100 most populous cities and then added the average annual precipitation for the period 2006-2020. They then ranked the cities by highest average annual rainfall. They left off smaller cities like Hilo, on Hawaii’s Big Island, which receives more rainfall than anywhere in the U.S., receiving an average of 147.65 inches a year. It turns out the rainiest city in the U.S. is a tie between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. Both have an annual average rainfall of 66.1 inches. In addition, the Louisiana coast is vulnerable to hurricanes, as witnessed by the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Here are the remaining top 10 rainiest cities in the country:
2. Huntsville, Ala. (63.48 inches)
3. Miami, Fla. (61.72 inches)
4. Houston, Tex. (60.70 inches)
5. Tampa, Fla. (59.17 inches)
6. Port St. Lucie, Fla. (59.04 inches)
7. Memphis, Tenn. (58.77 inches)
8. Virginia Beach, Va. (56.55 inches)
9. Nashville, Tenn. (56.45 inches)
10. Louisville, KY. (55.34 inches)
