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The Other Side of the Mountain: RainshadowsRead the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only".
» Maureen Fleury - Good Explanation Hi Keith:I didn't know about the Georgia Basin and that explains to me why the Gulf Islands and the westernmost part of the Lower Mainland is somewhat dryer. I regretfully live in the rainshadow and many times I sit under the clouds and see the lovely sunny sky that lies over the Georgia Basin area. The difference between the west and east slopes of the coastal mountains is very pronounced. I know from taking the Hwy 3 (Hope-Princeton highway). Once you reach the summit and start to descend eastward, the lush vegetation on the west side gives way to sparser growth. Keep up with your great articles! -- posted by Maureen Fleury » weather_doctor - Re: Good Explanation In response to message posted by mkfleury:Hi Maureen, and Thanks, The Georgian Basin rainshadow is one of the more prominent, but BC has many, in fact one for each of the parallel mountain ranges that cross the province. Another notable one is the one you mention east of the Cascades which forms the Pocket Desert you have written about around Osoyoos. I write more on this in my upcoming book 'From Sunshine Coast to Storm Mountain: The BC Weather Book' which will be out this fall. The lower Fraser Valley has a great precipitation gradient as we move outof the rainshadow at Delta and north into the North and West Vancouver regions and east to Chilliwack and Hope. There are also other mountain effects which leave the northside slopes cool and damp relative to the south faces which are drier and warmer. Thus, Spring moves upslope unevenly. -- posted by weather_doctor
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