Precipitation of the Northwest Coast of Washington

The northwestern coast of Washington gets a large amount of precipitation each year.
There is the most precipitation on the coast. As you move more inland, theres still a lot of
precipitation, but it is less than on the coast. There is a lot of precipitation because there is
orographic uplift of air masses from the ocean. The wet west-to-east winds rise up the windward
side of mountains that are orientated to north-south. Therefore, those winds produce a large
amount of precipitation.
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Precipitation of Washington

There is more annual precipitation towards the coast of Washington. As you look more
east, precipitation is lower. There is a strip of land that receives significantly less precipitation.
There is less precipitation because it is the leeward side of mountain chains. The area that is in
the lee side is in the rain shadow. There may be less precipitation because of high pressures.
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http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/atmospheric_moisture/geographic_patterns_pr
ecipitation_midlatitudes_poles.html
Precipitation of the United States

The western part of the United States receives lower precipitation than the eastern half.
Although the western coast has higher precipitation, the majority of the U.S. has lower
precipitation overall. There is less precipitation because there isnt enough water for evaporation.
In the southwest, it is desert, which is on the leeward side of mountains. Again, the high
pressures on the western half results in less precipitation. As you move eastward, there is more
precipitation because of the orographic uplift. The tropical air mass over the southeastern area
causes convective uplift. That results in a large amount of precipitation. There is less
precipitation as you move north because air temperature and saturation point decreases.
map: http://mapmaker.education.nationalgeographic.com
http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/atmospheric_moisture/geographic_patterns_pr
ecipitation_midlatitudes_poles.html
screencast: http://youtu.be/9NfdDNS87qw?hd=1