What Causes a Rain Shadow? | Video by SquidBooks?

A rain shadow happens when mountains block the rain from reaching some places.

Imagine you're playing with a toy train track that goes up a hill, the mountain. When it rains on one side of the hill, most of the water moves along the track and falls as rain on the other side. But if there’s a big hill in the way, like a mountain, some of that rain gets stopped by the mountain before it can reach the far side.

That’s what happens with real mountains, when clouds come toward them, they bump into the mountains and drop their rain on the windward side (the side facing the wind). But on the other side, called the leeward side, there's less rain because the air has already lost most of its moisture. It’s like a dry spot behind the mountain, kind of like when you put your hand in front of a fan and feel how much cooler it gets behind your hand.

So, mountains act like big shields that stop rain from reaching certain places, creating a rain shadow!