As the air continues moving to the east, it plunges down the other side of the mountains, warms up, and dries out. This phenomenon causes areas on the west side of the mountains to be much wetter than areas on the east side. Meteorologists call this contrast the orographic effect. The higher the elevation of a place, the cooler its temperature tends to be.
Here in western North Carolina, Asheville is located in a broad valley surrounded by high mountain peaks. The elevation of Asheville is about 2, feet above sea level.
Twenty miles to the northeast, Mount Mitchell, at 6, feet above sea level, is the highest peak in the eastern United States. The sharp elevation change over such a short distance means the average temperature for the two seemingly nearby locations is very different. The annual average temperature in Asheville is When calculating climate variables for an area, like we do in our climate division dataset , we must take into account these temperature and precipitation changes due to topography.
We do this by two methods described below. For the U. The process of putting the data onto the grid utilizes our knowledge of how temperature and precipitation behave with elevation changes. Based on mathematical formulas we can determine best estimates of the temperature and precipitation between those two locations.
This provides a better spatial representation of weather and climate data across the region. Another way take into account changes in topography is by using anomalies. Temperature anomalies change less over a distance than the absolute temperature, regardless of topography. The higher the mountain, the more pronounced the rain shadow effect is and the less likely rain will fall on the leeward side. The Windward is the side of a mountain that is facing into the direction that the wind is coming from.
By the time the air gets to the leeward side of the mountain it has already lost some of its moisture. Many of the deserts of the world are formed because of the lack of moisture blocked by the mountains. The Gabi desert is located behind the Himalaya mountain range in Asia. Follow me on Twitter mbarrow. This site uses cookies.
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Homework Help. The main differences in climate of mountains are temperature and moisture. What is the climate like on mountains? The temperature on mountains becomes colder the higher the altitude gets. Mountains tend to have much wetter climates than the surrounding flat land.
Read on to find out more What is the weather like on mountains? Why do mountains receive more rainfall? Air continuing eastward across central Washington will once again start to climb in elevation toward Spokane, which averages about 17 inches of rain per year. Mountains also can influence the formation of warm-season thunderstorms, which are sustained by rising moist air. Just as air rising up a mountain slope cools and moisture condenses, the opposite happens as air travels downward.
The air is dry because most of the moisture precipitated out on the windward side. The air is warm due to compressional heating as it descends the mountain lower elevation equals higher air pressure.
Winds can become very strong reaching speeds of between 40 and 60 miles per hour , and the temperature change can be drastic as well, warming 40 degrees or more in just minutes. These drastic temperature changes can be felt east of the Rockies from Calgary to the Dakotas, and to Denver on south. In California, these same warm, dry winds are called Santa Ana winds and can greatly worsen fire weather conditions. We are now in the middle of the coldest part of the year with average highs just above freezing.
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