Rain soaks into the sand and disappears in minutes or only hours.
Swimsuits dry in minutes.
Throats parch and leaves shrivel. The heat of the ground and the drying wind take most moisture before it can be used by plants and animals. Sometimes, rain evaporates before it even hits the ground. Frequently, a barrier of high mountains keeps moist air from entering deserts. The Atlas, Caucasus, Zagros, Sierra Nevada, Andes, Himalayas, and locally, the Santa Rosas, are among the formidable barriers to desert rains.