Mount Rainier is well known for its extreme snowfall, which averages nearly 700 inches a year at the 5,400-foot Paradise Ranger Station. Information on Mount Rainier weather, including the annual climate at Paradise Ranger Station, can be found here . General information about the park is available from the Mount Rainier National Park Service . How topography affects weather Narrow mountain canyons in the Southwest can quickly become the scenes of a raging flood. Find out how narrow canyons help spawn dangerous floods .
Mountains are often rainy compared with nearby lower elevations.
A graphic shows why the heaviest rain often falls on mountains. Usually, higher elevations are colder than lower elevations , but certain weather patterns can lead to higher elevations being much warmer than lower elevations. A graphic explains why this phenomenon occurs. Often, the heaviest snow falls over the highest elevations of mountain ranges. A graphic compares the snowfall at two locations in Utah, which are very close together, but are at different elevations.