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Thanks, Fleet. That's exactly what we needed, the pair of lists that shows the distinction between number of days of precip vs. total precip. Interesting that Seattle is number 8 on the "number of days" list, but doesn't get anywhere close to being in the top tier in terms of amounts of rain. The official recording station (SeaTac, I presume) only averages around 38-39 inches annually. But a mile away it might average 45 or 32 because the topography is so complex.
Thanks, Fleet. That's exactly what we needed, the pair of lists that shows the distinction between number of days of precip vs. total precip. Interesting that Seattle is number 8 on the "number of days" list, but doesn't get anywhere close to being in the top tier in terms of amounts of rain. The official recording station (SeaTac, I presume) only averages around 38-39 inches annually. But a mile away it might average 45 or 32 because the topography is so complex.
I was surprised to read that "rainy" Seattle gets less rain on average than both New York and Washington D.C.
It seems that there are a lot of rainy days in Seattle, but the measured amounts are small compared to the cities in the southeast and in other parts of Washington and Oregon.
It seems that there are a lot of rainy days in Seattle, but the measured amounts are small compared to the cities in the southeast...
The deal with the eastern two-thirds of the country is that there's more tropical influence, permitting abundant moisture at ground levels (mostly from the Gulf of Mexico), mixing with Atlantic and Pacific air masses which can carry moisture at higher levels, and if you stir that mix with a collision of air masses and a low pressure system, you can get Seattle's annual rainfall in just a few days.
Case in point with the tropical system that just flooded San Antonio and Houston --- it was a minor storm, not much unique or impressive about it. Rainfall rates in some places were running at a sustained 4 to 5 inches per hour. Even Los Angeles tends to get heavier rain than Seattle because it's in a warmer environment where the air masses can be less stable and squeeze out more moisture in a short time. They could use some of that right about now, given that they're experiencing their driest year in recorded history.
As for the high rain totals on the Pacific NW coast (especially on the western slopes of the mountains where it's common to get over 100 inches in a typical year), their rain comes in a steady heavy flow at rates up to about 2 inches per hour but it can last for days. A break in the rain means it's just drizzling. Seattle is in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, but as you ascend into the Cascades east of Seattle the rain totals go up again. Then you get into the arid central part of the state and it's hard to believe the contrast. Absolutely stunning place. I love Washington and could enjoy living in many areas there, from Port Townsend to Ellensburg to... I dunno.... I'm staying in Austin so it doesn't matter.
Here is more info about the Pacific Northwest from the same book:
"In the lower 48 states, the windward slopes of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and the coast ranges of Oregon collect the greatest amount of rainfalls. Wynoochee Lake, about 20 miles northeast of Aberdeen in Washington, and nearby Quinalt Lake, vie for the honor of highest annual average precipitation in the lower 48 states with 135-137" falling in a typical year. Even higher amounts likely fall at the 2,000-3,000-foot level of the Olympic Mountains north of here, but no rain gauges are there to measure them.
The town of Aberdeen itself receives an average of 84" annually, and ranks as the wettest town in America with a population of 10,000 or more. In Oregon, a spot on the map called Valsetz, deep in the Coast Ranges about 20 miles northeast of Newport, receives 130" a year, the second rainiest location in the lower 48. Laurel Mountain, just a few miles from Valsetz but 2,400 feet higher (Laurel Mountain is 3,589 feet) has the record for the most rain ever to fall in a single year in the United States with 204.12" recorded in 1996.
Locations beyond the reach of rain gauges probably receive much greater amounts. It is estimated that 180-200" of rain a year fall on the rainiest locations of Oregon's Coast Rangeat the 2,000 to 4,000-foot levels.
Northern California's Coast Ranges also receives tremendous winter rainfalls of near or over 100". The tiny Hamlet of Honeydew in Humbolt County is generally credited as the state's wettest town with an average of 104" per season."
The tiny Hamlet of Honeydew in Humbolt County is generally credited as the state's wettest town with an average of 104" per season."
More interesting info. But that last part about Honeydew is a surprise to me, as I had learned from another source that Orleans, a town on the windward slopes of the Trinity-Siskiyou range, was the wettest official place in CA. Regardless of who has the actual record, it's a sure bet that there are places that are much wetter but nobody is there to document it.
More interesting info. But that last part about Honeydew is a surprise to me, as I had learned from another source that Orleans, a town on the windward slopes of the Trinity-Siskiyou range, was the wettest official place in CA. Regardless of who has the actual record, it's a sure bet that there are places that are much wetter but nobody is there to document it.
Maybe the rain at Honeydew and Orleans is so close, that the rainiest of the two keeps changing? If one of those towns gets more rain than the other for a few consecutive years, it may put it in first place. Just a guess, though.
As you said, there are wetter places, but no official recording stations.
Just like in Death Valley. The official temp is taken at Furnace Creek Ranch (-178 feet below sea level), but both the Sand Dunes area and Badwater (-279.8 feet below sea level) average slightly higher temperatures. Badwater averages about 4 degrees warmer than Furnace Creek and the average July maximum temp at FC is 116 degrees.
I rarely post to groups, but was so amused at the discussions of users 'wettest' spots on the *globe* averaging from 40-200" annually that I felt the need...
we have SEVERAL locations here in the islands, on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island the AVERAGE well over 400" of rain per year!! The islands host several of the wettest places on the planet, Alaska doesn't even compare
Somewhere down in Texas for sure, they've got sooo much rain there! Then there was hurricane DEAN for southern Texas, there's more at the below link...
I rarely post to groups, but was so amused at the discussions of users 'wettest' spots on the *globe* averaging from 40-200" annually that I felt the need...
No need. The discussion, from the beginning, has intentionally focused on the lower 48 and somewhat on Alaska. Hawaii gets excluded from the discussion because it's in a completely different part of the world and it's fairly well-known that Kauai is home to the wettest known spot in the world, although there are parts of the Himalayas that may rival it --- but who's going to trek around getting measurements of monsoonal rains on steep slopes just so they can get a measurement of 500 inches per year? I'll pass...
Somewhere down in Texas for sure, they've got sooo much rain there! Then there was hurricane DEAN for southern Texas, there's more at the below link...
--http://www.weatherdiscussions.com/forums
Yes, Texas has had large amounts of rain from hurricanes.
The wettest location in Texas is the town of Orange 9ni N, near the Louisiana border which averages 62.75" of rain per year.
Texas holds several record for the most amount of rain within a certain amount of time.
For instance:
Time-------------- Rainfall--- Location-------------- Date
15 minutes-------- 3.95"----- Galveston------------- June 4, 1871
2 hours----------- 15.00"---- Woodward Ranch (D'Hanis)- May 31, 1935
2 hours, 45 min.--- 22.00"---- Woodward Ranch (D'Hanis)- May 31, 1935*
18 hours---------- 36.40"---- Thrall----------------- Sep. 9, 1921
24 hours---------- 43.00"---- Alvin------------------ July 25-26, 1979
*A world record.
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where the REAL rain is!!
