Frontal wedging is when warm air and cold air collide at the surface, or front.
What does it mean for air to wedge under a frontal boundary?
The concept of colder, dense air "wedging" under the less dense warmer air is often used to depict how air is lifted along a frontalboundary. WikiMatrix
What is a frontal inversion?
In temperature inversion A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below.
What is frontal lift in geography?
Frontal lift = (b) caused by a wedge of cold air. The frontal model is a two layer model with a wedge of cold air to the north represented by a homogeneous fluid layer of density ρρ, and an overlying warm air layer represented by another homogeneous fluid of density ρ2 (<ρ1).
Why did the Byzantines use wedges?
When the Byzantines had to make a frontalassault against a strong infantry position, the wedgewas their preferred formation for charges. WikiMatrix The concept of colder, dense air "wedging" under the less dense warmer air is often used to depict how air is lifted along a frontalboundary. WikiMatrix
What does frontal wedging cause?
In orographic lifting, a mountain side serves as a barrier to cause air to ramp up. In frontal wedging, a cold mass of air acts as a barrier forcing warmer air to ramp up and rise.
Where does frontal wedging happen?
Frontal wedging occurs in a cold front where the colder, denser air mass is advancing.
What is frontal uplift?
FRONTAL UPLIFT. Frontal uplift occurs when greatly contrasting air masses meet along a weather front. For instance, when warm air collides with cool air along a warm front, the warm air is forced to rise up and over the cool air. As the air gently rises over the cool air, horizontally developed stratus-type clouds form ...
What happens when cold and warm air collide?
When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass, the warm air rises since it is lighter. At high altitude it cools, and the water vapor it contains condenses. This type of front is called a warm front.
What causes air masses to move around?
Air masses are large bodies of air that have similar temperature and humidity. These air masses are moved around the atmosphere by prevailing winds that blow in one direction. At the boundaries between air masses, weather fronts form. Weather fronts cause changes in the weather such as rain, storms and wind.
What are the four lifting mechanisms?
Lifting mechanisms are forms of lift that cause air to rise. In this topic we cover orographic lift, frontal lift, convergence, and convective lift.
What causes frontal precipitation?
Frontal precipitation is the result of lifting of lighter warm moist air over more dense cold air. Generally, most storms in the Great Plains states are cyclonic. Convective precipitation results from the lifting or upward movement of air that is warmer and lighter than its colder denser surroundings (figure 3).
How does frontal uplift cause precipitation?
Frontal uplift occurs when two different air masses interact. Cold fronts force warm air up where it cools, forming clouds and precipitation. Warm fronts climb up the backside of cooler masses of air. The rising warm air cools to produce clouds and precipitation.
What is a frontal and cyclonic lift?
Frontal (or Cyclonic) Rain is caused by cyclonic activity and it occurs along the fronts of the cyclone. It is formed when two masses of air of different temperature, humidity and density meets. For example meeting of moisture laden warm tropical wind with a polar air mass.
What is it called when a warm and cold fronts meet?
But warm fronts and cold fronts don't simply follow one another in orderly procession. They can also merge in what's known as an occluded front, an important stage in the development of many of the great weather-making low-pressure systems known as midlatitude cyclones.
What causes weather fronts?
The answer is "moisture and differences in air pressure." A front represents a boundary between two different air masses, such as warm and cold air. If cold air is advancing into warm air, a cold front is present. On the other hand, if a cold air mass is retreating and warm air is advancing, a warm front exists.
What happens when two weather fronts meet?
Because cold fronts move faster, the cold front is likely to overtake the warm front. This is known as an occluded front. At an occluded front, the cold air mass from the cold front meets the cool air that was ahead of the warm front. The warm air rises as these air masses come together.
Learn about this topic in these articles
A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below. This kind of inversion has a considerable slope, whereas other inversions are…
temperature inversion
A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below. This kind of inversion has a considerable slope, whereas other inversions are…
Where is the cold front located?
Main article: Cold front. A cold front is located along the warm side of a tightly packed temperature gradient. On surface analysis charts, this temperature gradient is visible in isotherms and can sometimes be identified using isobars since cold fronts often align with a surface trough.
Which is more slow, a warm front or a cold front?
Warm fronts are at the leading edge of a homogeneous warm air mass, which is located on the equatorward edge of the gradient in isotherms, and lie within broader troughs of low pressure than cold fronts. A warm front moves more slowly than the cold front which usually follows because cold air is denser and harder to remove from the Earth's surface.
What is the difference between anafront and katafront?
The term " anafront " describes boundaries which show instability, meaning air rises rapidly along and over the boundary to cause significant weather changes. A " katafront " is weaker, bringing smaller changes in temperature and moisture, as well as limited rainfall.
How do cold fronts form?
An occluded front is formed when a cold front overtakes a warm front, and usually forms around mature low-pressure areas. The cold and warm fronts curve naturally poleward into the point of occlusion, which is also known as the triple point. It lies within a sharp trough, but the air mass behind the boundary can be either warm or cold. In a cold occlusion, the air mass overtaking the warm front is cooler than the cool air ahead of the warm front and plows under both air masses. In a warm occlusion, the air mass overtaking the warm front is warmer than the cold air ahead of the warm front and rides over the colder air mass while lifting the warm air.
How does a cold front affect weather?
Cold fronts often bring rain, and sometimes heavy thunderstorms as well. Cold fronts can produce sharper changes in weather and move at a rate that is up to twice as fast as warm fronts, since cold air is more dense than warm air, lifting as well as pushing the warm air preceding the boundary. The lifting motion often creates a narrow line ...
Why does a warm front move slower than a cold front?
A warm front moves more slowly than the cold front which usually follows because cold air is denser and harder to remove from the Earth's surface. This also forces temperature differences across warm fronts to be broader in scale.
How do mountains affect fronts?
Mountains and bodies of water can affect the movement and properties of fronts. When the density contrast between the airmasses is diminished, for instance after flowing out over a uniformly warm ocean, the front can degenerate into a line which separates regions of differing wind velocity known as a shearline.
