Weather 



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and determining how deep the water would be spread over the 

 area from which it is collected. A simple rain gauge is made 

 by placing a large funnel in a bottle. Collect the water during a 

 rain by placing the gauge out in an unsheltered place. Calculate 

 the depth this water would have if placed in a dish of the same 

 diameter as the top of the funnel. This gives the number of 

 inches of rainfall during the period when the water was caught. 

 Distribution of Rainfall. The distribution of rainfall in 

 any country is greatly affected by the surface of the land, and 



United States Weather Bureau. 



CUMULUS CLOUDS 



They often warn of coming thunderstorms. 



especially by the presence of mountains. In the western part of 

 the United States, the lowland region east of the Coast Range 

 receives only about 25 per cent as much rainfall in a year as the 

 section on the west side, on account of the high mountains in 

 the range. When the moisture-laden winds coming from the 

 Pacific Ocean reach this range, they are forced upward into a 

 colder region of air. Hence a large percentage of the water 

 vapor condenses and falls on the west side of the mountains. 



