The warmer air is the more ability it has to absorb and retain water, thus warm air is saturated and moist. The flip side is that cool air has much less capacity to retain water, and thus, when warm air is cooled it is forced to shed the water that it is saturated with. As air rises it is cooled at a rate of 6.5 degrees celsius per 1000 metres of elevation. When air reaches a the face of a mountain, it is forced to rise with the elevation of the mountain, and thus cools and sheds its water as precipitation. Depending on the season, this precipitation may be in the form of rain, sleet, or snow. The precipitation that results form the lifting process is called orographic precipitation.
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