3rd Form Weather.

Why does it rain more in Seathwaite than Newcastle?

Seathwaite is in an area of Britain where the land is very mountainous. it is extremely close to the sea, because the mountains are the first obstacle the warm moist air (North Atlantic Drift) comes to when it reaches the coast the air is forced to rise up and over the hills. As the air rises it cools and when it reaches condensation level it begins to condense up over the peaks. Clouds form over the hills. Some air continues to rise but as the valley Seathwaite is in approaches at the height it is the droplets of water in the clouds begin to bang together and become one droplet instead of two so the cloud therefore becomes more weighted as it comes over the Seathwaite Valley and eventually breaks and from the sky falls precipitation. As the air comes further away from Seathwaite however and the hills become smaller and eventually the area becomes flatter and lower down the air reaches dew point. Some of the air falls and so the air warms which means that it can hold more moisture as it comes across its leeward side. Newcastle is now where the air will probably be and in the rain shadow and because the air is containing its remaining moisture it is much drier.