From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In Meteorology a front is a boundary of two air masses of different air temperature and or humidity. The most common include:
- Cold Front: A mass of cool or cold air which is displacing a mass of warm or hot air. Will usually cause sharp lifting ahead of it, causing gusty snow or rain showers and if the cold front is pushing into areas of warm moist air, thunderstorms, squall lines and tornadoes can sometimes occur. Cold Fronts are usually represented on a weather map as blue lines with triangles (icicles) pointing in the direction that the cold front is traveling.
- Warm Front: A mass of warm or hot air which is displacing a mass of cool or cold air. Can cause a period of showery or rainy weather and sometimes thunderstorms. Warm Fronts are usually represented on a weather map as red lines with half circles (suns) pointing in the direction that the cold front is traveling.
- Stationary Front: A front separating two differing types of air masses that are not moving. Can cause a prolong period of precipitation. Stationary Fronts are usually represented on a weather map as red lines with half circles (suns) pointing in one direction and blue lines with triangles (icicles) pointing in the opposite direction.
- Occluded Front: When a faster moving cold front catches up to and overtakes a warm front. These usually form around low pressure areas and usually when the low pressure area is weakening. Occluded Fronts are usually represented on a weather map as red lines with half circles (sun) and blue lines with triangles (icicles) pointing in the same direction. The direction they are pointing indicates the direction that the front is traveling.
