It still looks like a petty active weather pattern for the rest of the week. A weak storm system should bring scattered showers through Wednesday morning, with snow levels rising to about 7,000’ through the day. Thursday should see us between systems, although a stray shower isn’t out of the question. As we head into the weekend, some colder and stronger storm fronts will move through, bringing valley rain and mountain snow on Friday and Sunday, with a brief break on Saturday.
The air becomes “dry” on the lee side from a relative humidity standpoint, since the temperatures warm as the air descends and compresses.
When you are talking about a rain shadow, many people mistakenly think that the Sierra “block” or “stop” the moisture from getting over the mountains. That’s not really how it works. Just as lifting air causes precipitation, descending air heats up, which evaporates the clouds and suppresses precipitation. As the air flows up the west side of the mountains, it increases rain and snow, but as it flows down the back side into western Nevada, it heats up and kills the precipitation producing process, unless some other lifting process is strong enough to overcome the backside drop. So the mountains don’t block the moisture… it just turns back into vapor and stays in the air, bypassing us until it gets lifted by some other process further to the east.
A Word of Weather 
New app sucks, bring back the last one. The blue background and red numbers are terrible, it was more pleasant to use the old 10 day
LikeLike
You aren’t the only one to complain about the color change…me included. We have gone back to the app developers to change the colors, and an update should be coming out soon. Thanks for the feedback.
LikeLike
alot of hype comes in part from not knowing that moisture and temp at sea level will constantly alter the shadow cool air rises up the mountain dropping the temp about 3 degrees per thousand feet. then warms up less than that per thousand feet on its way back down knowing the temp verses the elevation can help give good forecasts.can you show this in a graphic for us some time i learned about this in earth science years ago and relate to it from time to time thanks from lemon valley
nevada
LikeLike
The temperature change vs altitude can vary between 3 and 5 degrees F depending on whether the air is saturated or not. The wet adiabatic lapse rate (when the air is saturated) is 3 degrees per 1000′. If not saturated, the dry adiabatic lapse rate is 5 degrees per 1000′. The difference occurs because of the latent heat release which occurs during condensation.
LikeLike
Hi Mike, I am with a non-profit Friends Group to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. We are working on an weather education program and would love to get your permission to use your rain shadow graphic in our booklet. The image would be used in a booklet and be for non-commercial use–it will be distributed to youth visiting the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. If you are willing to allow us to use it please email me with that permission. Thank you very much for your consideration~Kathleen Viernes, Education and Outreach Coordinator
LikeLike
Of course you can… Be my guest. I hope it helps.
LikeLike