United States' Rainiest Cities

Wettest Weather

Cities in the United States that receive the most precipitation each year don't necessarily have an exceptionally high number of rainy days.

Among the country's 56 largest urban populations, Buffalo and Rochester, New York most often have days when it's raining or snowing. But it's Miami and New Orleans that receive the most rain each year, as the rankings in the tables below show.

The two cities in New York State each average over 165 wet days a year. Yet Buffalo ranks 30th in the total precipitation it receives annually, with 40.7 inches (1033 millimetres). Rochester gets even less rain and snow. At 35.1 inches (891 mm) of precipitation a year, Rochester ranks 37th among major US cities for highest annual precipitation.

New Orleans, on the other hand, where it usually rains over five feet a year, receives more precipitation than any big city in the USA, except Miami. Yet it has far fewer wet days than many other cities. New Orleans ranks just 31st among large US cities in the number of days with precipitation, at 115 days a year.

It all comes down to how often a city gets severe rain or snow storms that drop a large amount of precipitation in a short time. The stormiest cities see more days with heavy rain, when an inch or more lands in a single day.

The major cities included in the weather rankings represent the 56 metropolitan areas in the United States with the biggest populations, all those with over one million people in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau. A complete list of America's 56 largest urban centers is available here.

Some cities, less sizeable than these, get even more rain than Miami. Wetter cities include Ft. Lauderdale and Pensacola in Florida, Hilo Hawaii, and Gulfport Mississippi. Several smaller cities and towns on the west coast of Oregon, Washington and Alaska also receive more than 67.4 inches a year of precipitation.

The precipitation totals are averages based on weather data collected from 1991 to 2020 for the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. You can also view precipitation averages for all major US cities and precipitation amounts in recent years.

Annual rainfall plus snowfall for major US cities that get over 45 inches (1143 millimetres) of precipitation a year
City Inches Milli­metres
Miami, Florida 67.4 1712
New Orleans, Louisiana 63.4 1609
Birmingham, Alabama 56.6 1438
Houston, Texas 55.6 1413
Memphis, Tennessee 54.9 1395
Orlando, Florida 51.5 1307
Nashville, Tennessee 50.5 1283
Atlanta, Georgia 50.4 1281
New York, New York 49.5 1258
Tampa, Florida 49.5 1257
Virginia Beach, Virginia 49.2 1249
Louisville, Kentucky 48.3 1228
Jacksonville, Florida 47.6 1209
Providence, Rhode Island 47.5 1208
Hartford, Connecticut 47.1 1195
Raleigh, North Carolina 46.1 1170

Most Rainy or Snowy Days

Large US cities where it rains or snows at least 0.01 inches on 130 or more days a year
City Days
Rochester, New York 168
Buffalo, New York 166
Portland, Oregon 163
Cleveland, Ohio 159
Seattle, Washington 156
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 154
Grand Rapids, Michigan 149
Miami, Florida 141
Columbus, Ohio 141
Detroit, Michigan 136
Cincinnati, Ohio 136
Hartford, Connecticut 130
Orlando, Florida 130
Reference

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

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