The warm air mass rises as the cool air masses push and meet in the middle. The temperature drops as the warm air mass is occluded, or “cut off,” from the ground and pushed upward. Such fronts can bring strong winds and heavy precipitation . Occluded fronts usually form around mature low pressure areas.
Do occluded fronts bring warm weather?
Occluded fronts usually form around areas of low atmospheric pressure. There is often precipitation along an occluded front from cumulonimbus or nimbostratus clouds. Wind changes direction as the front passes and the temperature either warms or cools.
Do occluded fronts cause thunderstorms?
A thunderstorm is a storm that produces thunder and rain, on average lasting about 30 minutes and averaging about 15 miles in diameter. There are four types of weather fronts that cause thunderstorms: cold front, warm front, stationary front and occluded front .
What is a weather occlusion?
An occluded front is symbolised on a weather map as a line with both semicircles and triangles. ... The word occluded means ‘hidden’ and an occlusion occurs when the cold front ‘catches up’ with the warm front . The warm air is then lifted from the surface, and therefore hidden.
What clouds do cold fronts bring?
Cumulus clouds are the most common cloud types that are produced by cold fronts. They often grow into cumulonimbus clouds, which produce thunderstorms. Cold fronts can also produce nimbostratus, stratocumulus, and stratus clouds.
Which kind of front brings several days of wet weather?
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.
What causes an occluded front?
An Occluded Front forms when a warm air mass gets caught between two cold air masses . The warm air mass rises as the cool air masses push and meet in the middle. The temperature drops as the warm air mass is occluded, or “cut off,” from the ground and pushed upward.
At what point does a storm become a tornado?
Tornadoes only form when a thunderstorm has a particular combination of winds . Air rising in thunderstorms can begin to spin when it’s affected by winds blowing it in different directions. It starts to rise and is pushed to the side by wind. It rises a bit more and is jostled again by wind moving in another direction.
Why do cold fronts produce more severe weather?
There is a fundamental reason why severe weather is associated with cold fronts and this has to do with air densities . Cold air is more dense than warm air. That means cold air hovers near the ground and warm air rises.
What is the difference between a warm occlusion and a cold occlusion?
There are two different forms of occluded front. One is called a cold occlusion. A cold occlusion occurs when the air behind the occluded front is colder than the air ahead of it. ... A warm occlusion occurs when the cold air behind the occluded front is warmer than the air ahead of it .
What type of weather does high pressure bring?
A high pressure system is a whirling mass of cool, dry air that generally brings fair weather and light winds. When viewed from above, winds spiral out of a high-pressure center in a clockwise rotation in the Northern Hemisphere. These bring sunny skies .
What situation creates a cold occlusion?
A cold occlusion occurs when a cold front lifts a warm front . This can result in the piling up of three air masses on top of each other. In the case of a cold front and a warm front, there are typically two air masses that are interacting.
Is a cold front high or low pressure?
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface trough of low pressure .
Why do clouds form behind a cold front?
As the cold front develops the warm air ahead of the front is pushed up over the top of the cold air . This happens because the warm air is lighter (less dense) than the cold air. You often see clouds forming at a cold front. This is because as the warm air rises, it cools and moisture in the air condenses.
What does a warm front look like?
Symbolically, a warm front is represented by a solid line with semicircles pointing towards the colder air and in the direction of movement . On colored weather maps, a warm front is drawn with a solid red line. There is typically a noticeable temperature change from one side of the warm front to the other.
What type of front moves slowly and brings gentle rains that last for a few days?
Warm Fronts move slower than cold air__________. A warm front will steadily rise _________the cooler air and create gentle rain showers. An Occluded Front is formed when a ________front catches and overtakes a warm front.
