Which city is the wettest in the United States by average annual rainfall?

• A. San Francisco
• B. Seattle
• C. New Orleans
• D. Buffalo

Answer: (C)

Understanding how we measure wetness in cities means looking at average annual precipitation, which includes rain and melted snow. This total is what many climate rankings use, not rainfall alone.

Among these cities, San Francisco and Seattle are relatively dry compared with the others. San Francisco gets only about 20 inches of precipitation per year. Seattle is wetter, around 40 inches. New Orleans is very rainy, with roughly 60 inches annually, especially muddying the late-summer and hurricane season. Buffalo stands out because its annual precipitation is among the highest in these options—roughly in the 80s to 90s inches—largely thanks to lake-effect precipitation from nearby Lake Erie, which brings a lot of snow in winter that adds to the yearly total when melted.

So, when considering average annual precipitation (rain plus snow), Buffalo is the wettest among the listed cities. If you were measuring rainfall alone (excluding snow), rankings could shift, but total precipitation is the common measure used for “wettest.”