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If the Sierra Nevada Mountains didn't exist would Nevada get as much rainfall as California?

Public Comments

1. Well if the Sierra Nevadas didn't exist, then your folks in Nevada would get more rain, but not as much as california. Don't forget, besides the mountians themselves, there is that influence of weather pattersn from the desert areas of Nevada and the surrounding states. However, the Sierra Nevadas are very important for weather systems in the U.S. They are one of the reasons why the midwest is very windy, and without those winds coming off the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies, it would definately disrupt the way of life for the folks living out in the Mid West.
2. Thank you to our previous meterorologist... Now, since I LIVE in the Sierra Nevada's: NO, Nevada wouldn't get as much rainfall as California. The Mountains do receive a fair deal of precipitation, but if it were "FLAT" that precipitation wouldn't be drained from the skies. ALSO, the Sierra Nevada's pour HALF of that water down into Nevada in the form of run-off. JUST FYI... MOST of California actually qualifies as DESERT or near desert.
3. Yes, NV would get more precipitation. However, even if CA loses the Sierra Nevada mountain range, NV would still be in the rain shadow of Mount Shasta and the extreme southern section of the Cascade Mountain range, the coastal hills and mountain range, the Sutter Buttes mountain range, etc. that exists to the southwest to northwest of the state of NV.