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The fifth-generation PSU–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)-based regional climate model (CMM5) capability in simulating the U.S. precipitation annual cycle is evaluated with a 1982–2002 continuous baseline integration driven by the NCEP–DOE second Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP II) reanalysis. The causes for major model biases (differences from observations) are studied through supplementary seasonal sensitivity experiments with various driving lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) and physics representations. It is demonstrated that the CMM5 has a pronounced rainfall downscaling skill, producing more realistic regional details and overall smaller biases than the driving global reanalysis. The precipitation simulation is most skillful in the Northwest, where orographic forcing dominates throughout the year; in the Midwest, where mesoscale convective complexes prevail in summer …