What kind of weather follows a front

The greater the temperature difference between the two air masses, the stronger the winds will be. Fronts are the main cause of stormy weather. At a stationary front the air masses do not move.

A front may become stationary if an air mass is stopped by a barrier, such as a mountain range. A stationary front may bring days of rain, drizzle, and fog. Winds usually blow parallel to the front, but in opposite directions.

After several days, the front will likely break apart. When a cold air mass takes the place of a warm air mass, there is a cold front. Imagine that you are standing in one spot as a cold front approaches. Along the cold front, the denser, cold air pushes up the warm air, causing the air pressure to decrease.

If the humidity is high enough, some types of cumulus clouds will grow. High in the atmosphere, winds blow ice crystals from the tops of these clouds to create cirrostratus and cirrus clouds. At the front, there will be a line of rain showers, snow showers, or thunderstorms with blustery winds. A squall line is a line of severe thunderstorms that forms along a cold front. Behind the front is the cold air mass.

This mass is drier so precipitation stops. The weather may be cold and clear or only partly cloudy. Stationary Fronts Stationary front- a front that does not move or barely moves. Figure 4 - Development of an Occluded Front Occluded Fronts Because cold fronts move faster than warm fronts, they can catch up to and overtake their related warm front.

When they do, an occluded front is formed. The weather ahead of the cold occlusion is similar to that of a warm front while that along and behind the cold occlusion is similar to that of a cold front.

Fronts are zones of transition between two different air masses. Figure 1 - Types of Fronts. Fronts are boundaries between air masses of different temperatures. The type of front depends on both the direction in which the air mass is moving and the characteristics of the air mass. To locate a front on a surface map, look for the following: sharp temperature changes over relatively short distances, changes in the moisture content of the air dew point , shifts in wind direction, low pressure troughs and pressure changes, and clouds and precipitation patterns.

Cold front- a front in which cold air is replacing warm air at the surface. Some of the characteristics of cold fronts include the following: The slope of a typical cold front is vertical to horizontal.

Cold fronts tend to move faster than all other types of fronts. A warm front forms when a warm air mass pushes into a cooler air mass, shown in the image to the right A. Warm fronts often bring stormy weather as the warm air mass at the surface rises above the cool air mass, making clouds and storms.

Warm fronts move more slowly than cold fronts because it is more difficult for the warm air to push the cold, dense air across the Earth's surface. Warm fronts often form on the east side of low-pressure systems where warmer air from the south is pushed north.

You will often see high clouds like cirrus, cirrostratus, and middle clouds like altostratus ahead of a warm front. These clouds form in the warm air that is high above the cool air.

As the front passes over an area, the clouds become lower, and rain is likely. There can be thunderstorms around the warm front if the air is unstable. On weather maps, the surface location of a warm front is represented by a solid red line with red, filled-in semicircles along it, like in the map on the right B.

The semicircles indicate the direction that the front is moving. They are on the side of the line where the front is moving. Notice on the map that temperatures at ground level are cooler in front of the front than behind it.

A stationary front is represented on a map by triangles pointing in one direction and semicircles pointed in the other direction. A stationary front forms when a cold front or warm front stops moving. This happens when two masses of air are pushing against each other, but neither is powerful enough to move the other.

Winds blowing parallel to the front instead of perpendicular can help it stay in place. A stationary front may stay put for days. Winds tend to blow along it in opposing directions on each side. Conditions along the front are clear and dry, however, if moisture is available near the front, clouds and light precipitation may develop. An occluded front occurs when a cold front overtakes a warm front.

There are both cold and warm occlusions. In a cold occlusion, the colder air is found behind the front. Conversely, a warm occlusion is characterized by warmer air located behind the front. Winds are either from the east or south before the front passes.

After the front, winds shift from the west or northwest. Understanding the various types of fronts can help you know what kind of weather to expect when looking at a weather map.

This knowledge can help predict where they may go and how areas near the front will be impacted regarding temperatures, winds, and precipitation. Courses Summits Tradeshows Webinars.