What is a weather system called when a cold front catches up with a warm front?
Occluded fronts An occluded front is symbolised on a weather map as a line with both semicircles and triangles. They are often coloured purple. These are slightly more complex than cold or warm fronts. The word occluded means ‘hidden’ and an occlusion occurs when the cold front ‘catches up’ with the warm front.
What happens when a cold front meets a warm air mass?
When a moving cold air mass meets a warm air mass, that is lighter, it tends to wedge below the latter, thus giving origin to a cold front. The warm air is forced upwards and its ascent causes the formation of clouds. Since the clouds rise slowly, the cloud system that forms generally consists of stratified clouds.
What type of precipitation is produced from a warm front?
With a warm front, boundary between warm and cold air is more gradual than that of a cold front, which allows warm air to slowly rise and clouds to spread out into gloomy, overcast stratus clouds. Precipitation ahead of a warm front typically forms into a large shield of steady rain or snow.
What is cold front precipitation?
A cold front commonly brings a narrow band of precipitation that follows along the leading edge of the cold front. These bands of precipitation are often very strong, and can bring severe thunderstorms, hailstorms, snow squalls, and/or tornadoes.
What happens at a warm front?
A warm front forms when a warm air mass pushes into a cooler air mass, shown in the image to the right (A). Warm fronts often bring stormy weather as the warm air mass at the surface rises above the cool air mass, making clouds and storms. As the front passes over an area, the clouds become lower, and rain is likely.
When does the cold front overtake the warm front?
Cold fronts usually move along the Earth’s surface at velocities greater than the warm front. As a result, the late stages of cyclogenesis occur when the cold front overtakes the warm front causing the air in the warm sector to be lifted into the upper atmosphere ( Stages 6 and 7 ).
Where are the warm and cold fronts located in a mid latitude cyclone?
In their mature stage, mid-latitude cyclones have a warm front on the east side of the storm’s center and a cold front to the west. The cold front travels faster than the warm front. Near the end of the storm’s life the cold front catches up to the warm front causing a condition known as occlusion.
When does an occluded front form in a storm?
When they do, an occluded front is formed. Occluded fronts are indicative of mature storm systems (i.e., those about to dissipate). The most common type of occlusion in North America is called a cold-front occlusion and it occurs when the cold front forces itself under the warm front.
Why are there clouds north of the warm front?
Clouds and precipitation are quite prevalent to the north of the warm front. This results from the fact that low-level southerly winds in the “warm sector” of the cyclone rise up and over the cooler, more dense air at the surface located north of the warm front.