Top 20 Rainiest Cities and Towns in Maryland

Maryland has ample rainfall throughout the year along with quite a few heavy rainfall events from thunderstorms to the occasional tropical storm. 

We’ve dug deep into the data and ranked the rainiest cities and towns. We looked specifically at average annual rainfall followed by the top rainfall events over the past five years. We also touch on what you can do to protect your home from heavy rain damage.

Rainiest Cities and Towns in Maryland: Average Annual Rainfall

We’ve sifted through the rainfall information at City-Data to find the top 20 cities in Maryland for the highest average annual rainfall. We’ve chosen only those cities with populations of 6,000 or more. We’ve also excluded districts within cities, covering only the full city listing.

#	Location	Inches
1.	Thurmont	48.5
2.	Robinwood	47.1
3.	Frederick	47.1
4.	Ballenger Creek	46.8
5.	Walkersville	46.7
6.	Hagerstown	46.8
7.	California	46.5
8.	Chesapeake Ranch Estates-Drum Point	46.4
9.	Linganore-Bartonsville	46.4
10.	Lexington Park	46.2
11.	Linganore	46.2
12.	Salisbury	46.0
13.	Four Corners	45.9
14.	Laurel	45.9
15.	Havre de Grace	45.8
16.	Scaggsville	45.8
17.	Burtonsville	45.8
18.	Bel Air North	45.8
19.	Bel Air	45.7
20.	South Laurel	45.6

Rainiest Cities and Towns in Maryland: Heavy Rain Events

Average annual measures give you an idea of what rain you can expect every year. We’ve also reviewed NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information’s Storm Events Database. We set the range for Nov. 30, 2015, to Nov. 30, 2020, reviewing the heavy rain events recorded during those five years. 

Here are the top 20 cities ranked by rainfall amount. The numbers are the amount of rain recorded for a single storm. We’ve left out cities that registered several times on the list, showing only their highest total. 

#	Location	Date	Inches
1.	Snow Hill, Worcester County	Sept. 28, 2016	11.9
2.	Pittsville, Wicomico County	Sept. 28, 2016	9.3
3.	Princess Anne, Somerset County	Sept. 28, 2016	8.1
4.	Parsonsburg, Wicomico County	Aug. 13, 2017	7.6
5.	Hebron, Wicomico County	May 17, 2018	7.2
6.	Wicomico County Airport	Oct. 11, 2018	7.1
7.	Bond, Garrett County	Sept. 7, 2018	7.0
8.	Deal Island, Somerset County	Oct.11, 2018	6.5
9.	Siloam, Wicomico County	June 28, 2016	6.2
10.	Maryland Beach, Worcester County	June 9, 2018	6.2
11.	Barber, Talbot County	Sept. 9, 2016	6.0
12.	Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County	Feb. 11, 2018	6.0
13.	Ocean City, Worcester County	May 17, 2018	6.0
14.	Ocean Pines, Worcester County	May 17, 2018	5.8
15.	Easton, Talbot County	July 29, 2017	5.7
16.	Greensboro, Caroline County	Sept. 19, 2016	5.5
17.	Still Pond, Kent County	July 29, 2016	5.3
18.	East New Market, Dorchester County	Sept. 19, 2016	5.3
19.	Kings Creek, Somerset County	July 29, 2017	5.3
20.	Fruitland, Wicomico County	Aug. 12, 2017	5.3

You can tell that the heavy rainfall of Sept. 28, 2016, from severe thunderstorms was a big event for Maryland. The top three ranked cities are easily above the rest of the rankings given the rainfall that day. That same storm hit Washington, D.C., as well.

Rain in Our Hometown

The average annual rainfall in Baltimore is 42.9 inches. We’ve also taken a peek at Washington, D.C., which is near our office in Manassas, and seen they have an average rainfall of 42.7 inches.

How to Protect Your Home from Rain 

The lists above show that Maryland has plenty of annual precipitation along with a fair number of heavy rainfall events from storms to just plain downpours. Given that climate, it’s critical to make sure your home is protected.

Here are our recommendations.

• Install and maintain gutters and downspouts. These are absolutely essential to control the water that runs off your roof. Make sure they are sized correctly by reviewing our article Calculating the Importance of Gutters and Drainage. Then remove leaves and clear obstructions as well as repair any damage on a regular basis. 
• Install downspout extensions. Once the water is flowing into your gutters and rapidly through the downspouts, it’s no good if it just pools up around your foundation, seeping into the ground, and searching for ways to enter your basement or crawl space. Downspout extensions can move the water further away from your foundation before it hits the ground.
• Practice proper landscaping. Once the water emerges from the downspout extensions, it needs to keep moving. Grading the soil around your home to help the water move away is the best approach. That helps alleviate any buildup of water around your basement or crawl space.
• Waterproof your basement or crawl space. Even with all that, water is going to seep into the soil and form around the walls of your basement or crawl space. Inspect the walls closely, both inside and outside, for cracks as well as any openings for pipes and drain lines. Then fix them. Also, install a drainage system and sump pump with a backup battery to collect and remove leaks before they become problems.

Those are good starting points for protecting your home. 

We also recommend that you consult the professionals at JES Foundation Repair for a free inspection and repair estimate to identify any issues with your basement or crawl space that need attention in preparation for heavy rains.