What is a weather front?
Weather fronts mark the boundary between two different air masses, which often have contrasting properties. For example, one air mass may be cold and dry and the other air mass may be relatively warm and moist. These differences produce a reaction (often a band of rain) in a zone known as a front.
What do the fronts mean?
Definition. Fronts are boundaries between air masses of different temperatures. Fronts are actually zones of transition, but sometimes the transition zone, called a frontal zone, can be quite sharp. The type of front depends on both the direction in which the air mass is moving and the characteristics of the air mass.
Why is it called a weather front?
front, in meteorology, interface or transition zone between two air masses of different density and temperature; the sporadic flareups of weather along this zone, with occasional thunderstorms and electrical activity, was, to the Norwegian meteorologists who gave it its name during World War I, analogous to the …
What is cold front and warm front?
A cold weather front is defined as the changeover region where a cold air mass is replacing a warmer air mass. Cold weather fronts usually move from northwest to southeast. A warm weather front is defined as the changeover region where a warm air mass is replacing a cold air mass.
How fronts are formed?
When two air masses meet together, the boundary between the two is called a weather front. At a front, the two air masses have different densities, based on temperature, and do not easily mix. One air mass is lifted above the other, creating a low pressure zone.
What does front mean in science?
A front is a weather system that is the boundary separating two different types of air. One type of air is usually denser than the other, with different temperatures and different levels of humidity. 7 – 12+ Earth Science, Geography, Physical Geography.
How are weather fronts formed?
A warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass (the warm front), and then another cold air mass pushes into the warm air mass (the cold front).
How do weather fronts move?
They usually move from west to east. Cold fronts move faster than warm fronts because cold air is denser, meaning there are more molecules of material in cold air than in warm air. As they overtake cold air masses, warm fronts move slowly, usually from north to south.
What is cold front Science Definition?
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.
Where do weather fronts occur?
Warm fronts often form on the east side of low-pressure systems where warmer air from the south is pushed north. You will often see high clouds like cirrus, cirrostratus, and middle clouds like altostratus ahead of a warm front. These clouds form in the warm air that is high above the cool air.
What are the characteristics of weather fronts?
What Is A Front? A front is defined by the transition zone or boundary between two air masses with different characteristics including: temperature, wind direction, density and dew point.
What does weather front mean in Sciance?
(Image credit: NOAA.gov.) A weather front is a term used in meteorology to describe the front end or advancing edge of an air mass that will soon replace the air mass that’s over a specific region. These air masses are designated P for “polar” (cold), T for tropical (warm), M for maritime (wet) and C for continental (dry).
What is the definition of fronts in science?
warm front in Science. The forward edge of an advancing mass of warm air that rises over and replaces a retreating mass of cooler air. As it rises, the warm air cools and the water vapor in it condenses, usually forming steady rain, sleet, or snow.
What are fronts in science?
Science Fronts. Winds are generated when air flows from… If the air pressure is high, what kind… Which of the following fronts is MOST O… Storms often occur when two air masses… Winds are generated when air flows from… If the air pressure is high, what kind….
What is the definition of weather in science?
Weather is described in terms of variable conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind velocity, precipitation, and barometric pressure. Weather on Earth occurs primarily in the troposphere, or lower atmosphere, and is driven by energy from the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.