Cherrapunji among wettest places on earth

While the Taj Mahal is one of India’s most popular tourist attractions, the eastern part of the country has a different claim to fame: rainfall. The town of Mawsynram holds the Guinness World Record for highest average annual rainfall in the world with 467 inches – about 39 feet per year.

Moisture gathers over the nearby Bay of Bengal, leading to an intense, six-month monsoon season.The nearby town of Cherrapunji, India holds another rainy distinction: the wettest single year on record.

1,042 inches of rain fell there over a twelve-month period in 1860 and 1861 – more than double the rainfall that Mawsynram gets in a typical year. Many people mistakenly think Seattle is the rainiest place in the USA, but Mount Waialeale on the Hawaiian island of Kauai gets an average of 450 inches of rain per year.

Seattle, in contrast, gets around 37 inches. The lush valleys that surround Mount Waialeale are a popular filming location for Hollywood movies, including Jurassic Park and Tropic Thunder.

Even back in the lower 48 states, Seattle is not the wettest place. Rochester and Buffalo, New York are the cities with the most wet weather days per year. On average, 167 days a year in those cities have wet weather. Seattle has about 150 wet days per year.

Rochester and Buffalo are located on the shores of Lake Ontario and frequently pick up wet weather systems coming off the Great Lakes. The good news for the residents of Rochester and Buffalo? If they want to vacation in eastern India, they likely already own plenty of rain gear.