08-28-2008, 02:48 AM
No one is denying the existence of a rain shadow effect. But, as every good sailor or glider pilot knows first hand, when you clear ground, you get a lot more thermals. The trick to long distance gliding is to hop-scotch from one to the next. These thermals unquestionably break away moisture and thus potential rainfall, by blasting hot air up through the TWI, which then is lost by the upper level trades. While the leeward sides are/and have always been dry, they are now drier then they've ever been, and people are looking for reasons why.