You are viewing the technical text

Occluded Fronts

Mid-latitude depressions are usually associated with warm and cold fronts separating warm and cold sectors of air. The lighter warm air rises above the heavier cold air, more gently at a warm front but more vigorously at the cold front following behind. Cold fronts usually travel faster than warm fronts, and therefore at some stage of depression development, the cold front catches up with the warm front. In cross section, the warm air is lifted right off the ground, so that the observer on the surface misses out the warm sector stage. This is known as an occlusion or occluded front.

On synoptic (weather) charts an occluded front is represented by a solid line with alternating triangles and circles pointing the direction the front is moving. On colored weather maps, an occluded front is drawn with a solid purple line.

 

Weather

Print Topic

Websites
Environmental Change Network
Occlusion
WW2010
Occluded Fronts
USA Today

Other topics
Introduction to Weather
Anticyclones
Beaufort Scale
Cirrus Clouds
Clouds
Cold Fronts
Condensation
Convection
Cooling Air
Cumulonimbus Clouds
Cumulus Clouds
Depressions
Dew
Dew Point
Energy
Evaporation
Fog
Forecasting
Fronts
Frost
Humidity
Hurricanes
Isobars
Measuring Weather
Meteorology
Monsoons
Movement of Air
Occluded Fronts
Precipitation
Pressure
Sea Breeze
Stability of Air
Stratus Clouds
Sunshine
Synoptic Charts
Temperature
Thunderstorms
Tornadoes
Uplift of Air
Warm Fronts
Water Cycle
Weather Symbols
Wind

Home