Rain Shadow Effect

Rain Shadows - dry areas on downwind sides of mountains - are prominent on the Big Island of Hawaii and east of the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest. Many rain shadows exist around the world - including north of Asia’s Himalayas, west of Austalia's Great Dividing Range, and east of California's Sierra Nevada Range.

Three essential items are needed to develop the rain shadow effect - an ocean nearby, winds blowing steadily onshore, and a mountain range to block the traveling air mass. Evaporation on the surface of the ocean creates moist air. Prevailing winds push the wet air inland until it hits the base of the mountains. The air is forced to rise. As the air lifts, it expands and cools. Cooler air can’t hold as much moisture, so clouds form and it rains a bunch, resulting in a lush, green landscape. The now dry air mass crosses the mountains and begins to sink on the leeward side of the range. It compresses and warms, promoting evaporation. The result? Dry areas on downwind sides of mountains. A rain shadow!

[michaelambrose]

I've never in my life thought I'd ever see someone hiking wearing a bright red bow-tie, hahaha! I love it, lol

[valhalla]

An educator that is entertaining. What a concept, I wish there were professors like this in 1970. Imagine teaching with plain English, and the students not needing a dictionary and thesaurus to read a textbook. Kudos!

[peteaplin]

I always enjoy these bits and of course the longer videos as well, thanks!

[Xerethane]

I remember visiting a little town in Victoria Australia called Seymour for just a few weeks.  Its about an hour up the road from the coastal city of Melbourne but the changes in weather as you go are very noticeable.  Somewhere just outside the small town of Broadford on the way to Seymour is a place where the clouds just stop.  You can see them moving in during the wet season, drenching Broadford, Melbourne and the ares south but Seymour remains dry unless the storm was strong enough or came from the right angle to avoid the hills.  The clouds literally just stopped there and often would then move east or west rather than continue north.  The "mountains" are not tall there but the rain shadow effect can be clearly seen.

[CaliforniaBushman]

I'll never forget going to the Gorge @ George in August 98 to see two shows camping out for 2 - 3 days. 105°F. We came from SLC, UT and thought we were in Moab.

[GotYourWallet]

Wow, I've never heard of this effect before. Excellent illustrations!

[noscopegaming]

2 hrs b4 a test, watched it, aced it

[gregoryfox]

I live in eastern Washington and my favorite color is brown. Ah home. The wonderfulness of it all!

[GeographyGeek]

Love your videos. You should come back and make more.

[chadhansen]

That's why I love the Northwest so much diversity

[davidanderson]

I'm impressed by how many different location shots you did for this video. One script spread across both sides of Hawaii and both sides of the Cascades? Most people would just use connecting narration after the filming.

[Comrade]

Great lesson on this amazing phenomenon. I live on a rainy hill but my job is on the dry side of the San Bernardino mountains. It's less than an hour drive and merely a 2000 ft gain in elevation but there is a totally different climate out there. The transition is unbelievable. Thank you 🙏🏽

[berry]

a new way to look at the world! thank you!

[Rollwiththevibes]

do more of these! I love learning the natural history of western Washington!

[bridgerandres]

I got scammed! 2 minute geology? More like 5 minute geology. smh 😂😂😂

[CaptainPoseidon]

Thank you a lot sir! You might've just saved my geography test!

[thephoenix]

Examples could be east of the Grampian Mountains in Scotland, east of the Andes in Patagonia, South America, and east of the Southern Alps in New Zealand.

[mklooker]

I’m always trying to explain this condition to all my colleagues that work with throughout the United States. I got a send them this video.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge 😀

[dyannejohnson]

Nick did not know you could sing…nice tonal quality

[waltciii]

I want to check out those rain shadow deserts in Eastern Washington. As a Southern Californian, I love desert geology. I went to school as a lowly engineer; now I wish I had taken some Geology classes.