If you are looking at a mountain, would it be right to say that when moving air

Question

If you are looking at a mountain, would it be right to say that when moving air encounters a mountain range the air will be uplifted along the slope of the mountain (a low pressure system) causing the air to condense which leads to an increase in precipitation on the windward side of that mountain. When the condensed air finally reaches the top of the mountain range, it is mostly dry and cool (a high pressure system) so there is usually no precipitation on the lee-ward side of the mountain ranges. I want to make sure I understand the idea of low pressure systems and high pressure systems in regards to mountains and rainfall.

Explanation / Answer

To answer the question, one must have the idea of how the rain shadow forms.

a) When a moisture ladden warm wind encounters a mountain range, the air is forced to move along the slope of a nountain range. This rising of air is Orographic lifting.

b) The air when rises upward along the windward side of the mountain, it starts to expand gradually as atmospheric pressure decreases with height. This results in the increase of the volume of moist air with consequent decrease of internal energy and as a result the temperature of the air falls. This causes adiabatic cooling of the air.

c) The precipitation takes place in the windward side of mountain range when the moist air becomes so adiabatically cooled that it has reached the Dew point (below which condensation of water from water vapour takes place).

d) The cold dry air moves down along the leeward side of the mountain range it compresses, warms and any moisture left evaporates due to increasing atmospheric pressure with decreasing altitude and ultimately a Rain Shadow region forms.

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