Dear Tom,
How does all the rain we had this summer compare with the rainiest places in the world?
–Anna Spiczynski, Chicago
Dear Anna,
The world’s wettest locations are on mountains or ridges where prevailing winds force moist oceanic air inland and upslope. In the United States, the wettest spot is on Mt. Waialeale on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The annual rainfall there is a whopping 460.0 inches–about 38 feet of rain–or 12.7 times Chicago’s annual average of 36.27 inches.
With 43.28 inches of precipitation (rain plus the water content of melted snow) as of Oct. 25 at O’Hare International Airport, only an additional 6.08 inches is needed to establish a new annual record (currently 49.35 inches registered in 1983). The world’s wettest location is Lloro, Colombia, with 523.6 inches (14.4 times Chicago’s average).
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Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or: asktomwhy@wgntv.com
Weather Report is prepared by the WGN-TV Weather Center, where Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at 11:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
IN THE WEB EDITION: For updated weather news, forecasts by ZIP code and local radar images, go to chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
