Dear Tom,
Where is the wettest place on Earth?
Tom Burke
Dear Tom,
Several waterlogged locations around the world are in the running for this rather unenviable title, one of them in our own 50th state, where rainfall at a gauge about a mile high on the slopes of Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii averaged 460″ a year from 1931-1960. Other equally wet spots include two locations in extreme northeast India where an upslope enhanced monsoonal flow off the Bay of Bengal yielded an average annual precipitation of 467.4″ at Mawsynram and 463″ at Cherrapunji. Another contender is in northwest Columbia where the mountain town of Lloro reportedly averaged an estimated 523.6″ between 1932-60.
The world rainfall leader on a one-time 12 month basis is clearly Cherrapunji, India where 1042″ fell in the 12 month period from August 1860-August 1861.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
