Editing Great Dividing Range (section)

==Climate==
[[File:Worldwind-SnowyMountains.jpg|thumb|The Monaro Plains (top right) are drier than the verdant western upslopes (bottom left) as they lie in a rain shadow. (View of the [[Snowy Mountains]] region)]]
The sharp rise between the coastal lowlands and the eastern uplands has affected [[climate of Australia|Australia's climate]], mainly due to [[precipitation (meteorology)#Orographic effects|orographic precipitation]], and these areas of highest relief have revealed an impressive gorge country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Löffler |first=Ernst |author2=A.J. Rose |author3=Anneliese Löffler |author4=Denis Warner |title=Australia:Portrait of a Continent |year=1983 |publisher=Hutchinson Group |location=Richmond, Victoria |isbn=0-09-130460-1 }}</ref> Areas to the east of the mountain range in southern NSW usually experience a [[Föhn effect]], which is a [[Australian foehn winds|dry wind originating from the Great Dividing Range]] that abruptly raises the air temperature in the lee of that mountain range and reduces atmospheric moisture.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drechsel |first1=S. |last2=Mayr |first2=G.J. |title=Objective Forecasting of Foehn Winds for a Subgrid-Scale Alpine Valley |journal=Weather and Forecasting |date=2008 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=205–218 |doi=10.1175/2007WAF2006021.1|bibcode=2008WtFor..23..205D |s2cid=123497649 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This dry wind, which elevates [[bushfires in Australia|fire danger]] in the warm months, occurs because of the partial [[orographic]] obstruction of relatively damp low-level air and the subsiding of drier upper-level air in [[leeward]] of the mountains. The drier air is then heated more because of the [[adiabatic]] compression as it comes down the lee slopes, forming a [[rain shadow]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharples |first1=J.J. |last2=Mills |first2=G.A. |last3=McRae |first3=R.H.D. |last4=Weber |first4=R.O. |title=Foehn-Like Winds and Elevated Fire Danger Conditions in Southeastern Australia |journal=Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology |date=2010 |volume=49 |issue=6 |pages=1067–1095 |doi=10.1175/2010JAMC2219.1|bibcode=2010JApMC..49.1067S |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In the cool season, the Great Dividing Range would shield much of the southeast (i.e. [[Sydney]], [[Central Coast (New South Wales)|Central Coast]], [[Hunter Valley]], [[Illawarra]], the [[Australian Capital Territory|ACT]], the [[Monaro region|Monaro]] and [[South Coast (New South Wales)|South Coast]]) from south-westerly [[cold fronts]] that originate from the [[Southern Ocean]], which bring chilling rains, [[Rain and snow mixed|sleet]] and snow to the [[upwind]] side of the ranges, such as on the western [[Central Tablelands]], [[South West Slopes]] and [[Snowy Mountains]] regions – all which have relatively wetter winters.<ref>[https://www.willyweather.com.au/news/5291/rain+shadows.html Rain Shadows] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922232632/https://www.willyweather.com.au/news/5291/rain+shadows.html |date=22 September 2021 }} by Don White. Australian Weather News. Willy Weather. Retrieved 24 May 2021.</ref> Upwind locations include [[Crookwell, New South Wales|Crookwell]], [[Batlow]], [[Tumut]], [[Corryong]], [[Bright, Victoria|Bright]], [[Beechworth, Victoria|Beechworth]], [[Eildon, Victoria|Eildon]], [[Tolmie, Victoria|Tolmie]] and those in [[West Gippsland]] (namely the [[Latrobe Valley]] and [[Wilsons Promontory]]). Whereas on the [[downwind]] (eastern) slopes, [[Cooma]], [[Omeo]], [[Goulburn, New South Wales|Goulburn]], [[Bowral, New South Wales|Bowral]], [[Bombala, New South Wales|Bombala]], [[Nimmitabel]], and [[Canberra]], are warmer and drier relative to altitude.<ref>[https://thenewdaily.com.au/weather/2020/05/28/bom-winter-weather-forecast-2020/ And the outlook for winter is … wet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725121537/https://thenewdaily.com.au/weather/2020/05/28/bom-winter-weather-forecast-2020/ |date=25 July 2021 }} by Kate Doyle from [[The New Daily]]. Retrieved 24 May 2021.</ref>

Moreover, [[Oberon, New South Wales|Oberon]], [[Shooters Hill (New South Wales)|Shooters Hill]] and [[Sunny Corner, New South Wales|Sunny Corner]] are on the crest of the ranges and thus exposed from all directions, hence their evenly spread rainfall. The main ski resorts in New South Wales, such as [[Thredbo|Thredbo Village]], [[Perisher Valley|Perisher]] and [[Charlotte Pass]], lie transitionally between the leeward and windward side (the former town being more leeward and the latter more windward). Although they receive substantial precipitation from over the crest of the ranges, they lack the persistent cloud cover which characterises truly windward locations on the western face, which are; [[Cabramurra]], [[Kiandra]], [[Mount Buller]], [[Falls Creek Alpine Resort|Falls Creek]], [[Mount Hotham]], [[Mount Buffalo]] and [[Mount Baw Baw]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoinka |first1=K.P. |title=Observation of the airflow over the alps during a foehn event |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |date=1985 |volume=111 |issue=467 |pages=199–224 |doi=10.1002/qj.49711146709 |bibcode=1985QJRMS.111..199H |url=https://elib.dlr.de/111836/1/Hoinka-AirflowOverAlps-qj1985.pdf |access-date=24 January 2023 |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211085004/https://elib.dlr.de/111836/1/Hoinka-AirflowOverAlps-qj1985.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>