How does mountain barriers affect the climate?

Answer 1

Mountains can affect the climate of nearby lands. Clouds approaching a mountain are forced to rise, and rising clouds can't hold so much water, so they drop their rain, so the windward side of a mountain range may be rainy and the leeward side may be a desert.

Much of airborne moisture falls as rain on the windward side of mountains. This often means that the land on the other side of the mountain (the leeward side) gets far less rain - an effect called a "rain shadow" - which often produces a desert.

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.

The Leeward side is the wind protected side of a mountain.)

Answer 2

The climate of a mountain is more often then naught much more cooler than on sea level. Due to the elevation at the peak of a mountain, the hot air is much less present, and the air is more moist, making it much more colder.

Answer 3

Mountain change many aspects of the weather. Mostly, they change wind patterns which are integral in storm production. This happens on both a vertical plane AND a horizontal plane.

Hot humid air can be pushed vertically by the mountain and cool rapidly. This temperature change from moist air trying to fall (remember that cool air falls) while the hot lower air is still trying to rise is what can create severe storms.

1. Mountains can affect the climate of nearby lands. In some areas, mountains block rain, so that one side of a mountain range may be rainy and the other side may be a desert. Much of airborne moisture falls as rain on the windward side of mountains.
2. Air moves up and down mountains in "lee waves." Farmers build terraces on mountains because the weather is moderated, providing a longer growing season.

They create a rain shadow on one side and a near drought on the other, because the warm air that rises up the mountain from the valleys/plains hits the cooler air on the mountain peaks, this mixing causes it to rain on the opposite side of the mountain that the warm air came from, so one side stays very dry and the other very wet!

A classic example is New Zealand's South Island. On the West coast it rain like a rainforest and on the other side only a fraction of the rain because the high altitude southern alps mountain range 3000m~ creates the natural climactic barrier.

Mountains create specific climatic zones.

Upwind of the mountains air is forced upward by the mountains where it is cooled and precipitation occurs (causing a wet side to the mountains).

Downwind of the mountains, the air that descends from the mountain warms up and vapour pressure increase which results the relatively humid to lower and air becomes drier. (causing a dry side to the mountains - a "rain shadow").

Also the higher you are on the mountain, the colder it gets causing a vertical separation of climatic zones possibly from a tropical base though to a cloud forest to an alpine/arctic summit.

• Mountain ranges usually have a cold climate in its surrounding areas. They also help diminish winds coming in from the seas.

The mountains affect the airwaves going through. Also they can deflect clouds and this causes precipitation to become used up as it goes over the mountains or build up heavier precipitation.

Answer 4

it makes it colder?????????????????????????????

Answer 5

You can find beaches, deserts, mountains, and rainforests in Spanish-speaking countries.