– how can a place be constantly extremely rainy? Eg Maui is said to be one of the wettest places on earth where it rains constantly. What is the explanation behind this? Why would one place be constantly rainy as opposed to another place?
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Late to the party, but I live in Lahaina, Maui. I live just down the mountain, at sea level, from the mountain that is considered to be the second wettest place on earth. On the highest point, Puu Kukui, there is an average of 400 inches of rain a year. At sea level, we get about 15 inches of rain a year. Every day, wind blows over the water and carries moisture along. When that moisture hits the mountain, it rises up. At the same time, when the sun heats up the mountain, it pulls the moisture up with hot rising air. Both of these phenomena cause clouds to condense and form at the top of the mountain almost every day, and then the rain comes down. We don’t normally get this rain in Lahaina, as it goes down a river on the other side and fills old lava tubes that drain all the way down into the ocean.
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