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As warm, moist air rises up the windward side of a mountain, the air temperature cools and loses its capacity to hold moisture. Thus, the greatest amount of rainfall is expected at mid-altitudes and can support deciduous forest development. Above a certain elevation the rising air becomes too dry and cold, and thus discourages tree growth. [9]
The mountain ranges on the eastern side of Madagascar provide a rain shadow for the country's western portion. The windward side of the island of Madagascar, which sees easterly on-shore winds, is wet tropical, while the western and southern sides of the island lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands and are home to thorn forests and ...
Föhn wind illustration (Left [West]: windward side, Right [East]: leeward side). The southeast Australian foehn is distinguished by three criteria; surface winds which blow from the mountains' direction, a sharp rise in air temperature in the leeward side of the mountains, and an accompanying diminution in atmospheric moisture. [2]
The terms windward and leeward are used in reference both to sides (and climates [7]) of individual islands and relative island locations in an archipelago. The windward side of an island is subject to the prevailing wind, and is thus the wetter (see orographic precipitation). The leeward side is the side distant from or physically in the lee ...
QuikSCAT image showing the speed of the Santa Ana winds (m/s) While the Santa Anas are katabatic, they are not Föhn winds. These result from precipitation on the windward side of a mountain range which releases latent heat into the atmosphere which is then warmer on the leeward side (e.g., the Chinook or the original Föhn).
On the leeward side of the mountain, the air flowing downward is known as a foehn wind. Because some of the moisture that has condensed on the top of the mountain has precipitated, the foehn (or föhn) is drier, and the lower moisture content causes the descending air mass to warm up more than it had cooled down during ascent.
Its base is near the height of the mountain peak, though the top can extend well above the peak and can merge with the lenticular clouds above. Rotor clouds have ragged leeward edges and are dangerously turbulent. [4] A foehn wall cloud may exist at the lee side of the mountains, however this is not a reliable indication of the presence of lee ...
The lift of the air up the side of the mountain results in adiabatic cooling with altitude, and ultimately condensation and precipitation. In mountainous parts of the world subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, the trade winds ), a more moist climate usually prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the leeward ...