Question

Differentiate between relief rainfall and cyclone rainfall.

Answer 1

Relief rainfall

Relief rainfall occurs when air has been blown over the sea and is then forced up over an area of high land.

This causes the air to cool and the moisture in the air condenses and rain falls.

Convectional rainfall

Occurs mostly in tropics where it is hot.

When air is hot is rises and cools and condenses forming rain.

If the air is hot enough, it rises very quickly and can cause thunderstorms.

Answer 2

Relief rainfall occurs when warm moist air from the Atlantic Ocean rises up over mountains. When the warm air rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds, which bring rain. Once the air has passed over the mountains, it descends and warms. This creates drier conditions known as a rain shadow . Cyclonic or 'frontal' rain occurs where two air masses meet and form a 'front'. The warmer, moisture laden air rises over the colder air as a 'warm front'. As. the air rises it cools, and its relative humidity increases. Clouds form as water vapour condenses, and then fall as rain.