Front Classification
To understand fronts, we must first define and understand what an air mass is. An air
mass is any huge body of air whose physical properties (temperature and moisture) are
horizontally and vertically uniform. When air stagnates over certain regions, it acquires
properties from the underlying surface (source region) and forms an air mass. The
prevailing weather over any area at any given time generally depends on the properties
and characteristics of the prevailing air mass. In time, these air masses move out of
their source regions because of the general circulation of the earth's atmosphere, the
terrain, and other factors. In the northern hemisphere, cold air masses from the Polar
Regions tend to move southward while warm air masses from the tropical regions tend
to move northward.
When two different air masses meet, the boundary or surface that separates these air
masses is called a front.
Classification
Fronts are generally classified according to the relative motions of the air masses
involved. The four chief classifications and their descriptions are contained in Table 1-7.
The weather associated with fronts and frontal movement is called frontal weather. It is
more complex and variable than air mass weather. The type and intensity of frontal
weather is determined by a number of things (i.e., slope of the front, water vapor
content, and stability of the air mass) and may range from a minor wind shift with no
clouds or other visible weather activity to severe thunderstorms accompanied by low
clouds, poor visibility, hail, and severe turbulence and icing. Consider each of the frontal
categories and the weather pattern each usually produces.
Type
Description
Cold front
A front whose motion is such that cold air displaces warm air at the
surface
Warm front
A front whose motion is such that warm air replaces cold air at the
surface
Stationary front
A front that has little or no motion
Occluded front
A complex front resulting when a surface cold front overtakes a warm
front
Table 1-7 -- Four frontal classifications
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