Question

What do you mean by leeward and windward sides of mountains?

Answer 1

The leeward side is the drier sideor the side where the trade winds pass after they hit a mountain. The windward side is the wetterside. The way I try to remember it is this way – the winds hang out and produce rain on thewindward side. The leeward side of a mountain is the side protected from the prevailing wind.
As the wind blows across a mountainrange, air rises and cools and clouds can form on the windward side. This is why windward sides of mountainranges tend to get heavy precipitation. When the air sinks on the leeward sideof the mountain range, it is usually much drier and warmer than it was to begin with.