Weather Fronts

• Southern oceans—the air is cold and wet

You should note that some of these areas are generalized rather than specific, such as the southern oceans and the tropical oceans.

WEATHER FRONTS

There are four main types of weather fronts. We've talked so far about the warm front and the cold front. These are named according to the characteristics of the leading edge. Warm fronts mean the leading edge of air is warm. These fronts are characterized more locally as the collision between two air masses that need to have differing temperatures and humidity levels. By definition, the warm one will be lifted above the cold one, regardless of which one is advancing.

A low pressure area develops where the two air masses meet. You will get the most precipitation if the lifted air mass is very humid. The lifted air should have condensation in the higher altitudes, giving rise to a great deal of precipitation. It is hard to get any storms without some type of front associated with them.

Stationary fronts can be due to some type of terrain issue, such as some sort of mountain range. It often rains in these areas, but it isn't usually very strong. You may see lighter rains, fog, or just drizzle. The front might break up as the air mixes together. An alternative is that the front may become a warm or cold front if the power of one air mass exceeds the other.

Along a cold front, you will see a squall line, which is a line of severe thunderstorms, almost always associated with a cold front moving in. Once the cold air moves in, the high will develop and the air will be drier. It doesn't dry out but the airmass itself is simply drier to begin with. Winds die down but still blow somewhat toward the low region at the front.

Cold front weather depends strongly on your region and the time of year. In springtime, the winds tend to be stronger. During this time and into summer, you will get tornadoes or thunderstorms. You won't see such strong storms in the fall but you might get heavy