What Are The Different Kinds Of Weather Fronts?

weather fronts are where two air streams meet. These air steams have different temperatures and humidity. The warmer air, being less dense, rises up over the cooler air. The warm air expands and therefore cools as it rises. Colder air can hold on to less water vapour. The water condenses out of the atmosphere, forms clouds and eventually rain.

There are different kinds of fronts

Stationary Front a front that is not moving
When a warm or cold front stops moving, it becomes a stationary front. Once this boundary resumes its forward motion, it once again becomes a warm front or cold front.

cold front transition zone from warm air to cold air
A cold front is defined as the transition zone where a cold air mass is replacing a warmer air mass. cold fronts generally move from northwest to southeast. The air behind a cold front is noticeably colder and drier than the air ahead of it. When a cold front passes through, temperatures can drop more than 15 degrees within the first hour.

warm front transition zone from cold air to warm air
A warm front is defined as the transition zone where a warm air mass is replacing a cold air mass. warm fronts generally move from southwest to northeast and the air behind a warm front is warmer and moister than the air ahead of it. When a warm front passes through, the air becomes noticeably warmer and more humid than it was before.

Occluded front when a cold front overtakes a warm front
A developing cyclone typically has a preceding warm front (the lead edge of a warm moist air mass) and a faster moving cold front (the leading edge of a colder drier air mass wrapping around the storm). north of the warm front is a mass of cooler air that was in place before the storm even entered the region.

Dry Line a moisture boundary
A dry line is a boundary that separates a moist air mass from a dry air mass. Also called a Dew Point Front, sharp changes in dew point temperature can be observed across a dry line. Dry lines are most commonly found just east of the Rocky Mountains, separating a warm moist air mass to the east from a hot dry air mass to the west.

Find out about how Weather fronts effect our daily weather.

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