warm and cool fronts have an affect on the weather
You may have noticed red and blue lines with triangles and half circles on a weather map.
On the weather map shown at the left, you can see the United States, contour lines, and fronts. These front are represented by the blue, red, and purple lines. What do they mean?
- Blue solid line with triangles - Cold Front
- A cold front will form where a cold air mass moves in and replaces a warm air mass.
- Cool fronts affect the weather by bringing heavy precipitation and severe storms forming along they way. Cooler, drier weather often follows a cold front.
- Red solid line with half-circles - Warm Front
- A warm front forms where a warm air mass moves in and replaces a cold air mass.
- Warm fronts often produce light precipitation over large areas. Temperatures will increase, therefore warmer weather follows this type of front.
- Purple line with triangles and half-circles - Occluded Front
- An occluded front will form when a warm air mass is caught between two colder air masses.
- An occluded front can produce heavy precipitation and is usually followed by lower temperatures.
- Red and blue line with triangles and half circles - Stationary Front
- A stationary front forms when two air masses meet, but neither of the masses replace each other.
- Precipitation can form along this front. Because a stationary front does not move, precipitation can fall for long periods of time.
This image was edited and is not portraying any accurate weather forecast, nor is it an accurate view of any weather scenario.