Why is this subject being studied?

• Fronts cause weather beyond the tropics (Polewards

from 30°N and 30°S.
• Knowledge of this subject will enable a mariner to
understand and predict weather
• The three terms to remember are - Air Masses, Fronts
and Frontal Depressions.
• Air Masses cause fronts
• Fronts cause Frontal Depressions
 An Airmass
• An air mass is a large homogenous body of air (1000nm,
500nm wide and may be 1 or 2 miles high).
• Similar temperature and moisture properties throughout.
• Air masses are created over large flat areas where air has
been stagnant for long, causing thorough mixing of air.
• Following are the types
– Continental Polar (cP) Cold and Dry
– Maritime Polar (mP) Cold and Moist
– Continental Tropical (cT) Warm and Dry
– Maritime Tropical (mT) Warm and Moist
– Continental Arctic (cA) Cold and Dry
– (cA is not listed in Cpt. Subramanian’s book and may
have been a latter Meteorological discovery.
AIR MASS

The diagram shows

airmasses in the northern
hemisphere.

Arctic Continental is akin

to Polar Continental except
that it is even colder.

The diagram also shows

two cold fronts moving
southwards.
 What is a Front in Meteorology?

• “Front” is a military term indicating voilence.

• Met. front is a boundary between warm and cold airmasses.
• Interaction, makes front into a ‘Frontal Zone’
• When air masses are stationary, it’s a stationary front.
• When they begin to move, weather becomes bad.
• Swifter cold air mass creates cold front which is more violent
than warm front.
• Worst weather occurs during frontal depression.
• Frontal weather is a very complex process yet to be fully
understood.
• Fronts do not occur in tropics because of single air mass.
Fronts in the oceans during January (Upper) & July are shown below
It can be seen, that as the winter sets in, the fronts move towards the
equator causing rough weather over the oceans.
 Types of fronts
There are four types of front:-
• The Stationary Front
• The Warm Front
• The Cold Front
• Occluded Front after a frontal depression

This listing is in a chronological sequence of Front formation

to Formation of frontal depression to its Dissipation.
 The Stationary Front
• Stationary Front - A front that is not moving.
• On a weather Fax, a stationary front is represented by
alternating Triangle and Half-moons as shown below.
(B&W for Weather FAX and coloured for Satellite Picture)
• The triangles point towards the warmer air and half-moons
towards the colder air.
• Weather depends upon whether observer is located in Cold
or Warm air mass.
 Weather in an airmass

• In Warm Airmass
• The weather can vary from fine and sunny to cloudy
(convection clouds), with drizzle and fog .
• The clouds are layered type and are not very thick.
• Cold airmass
• The weather is more rainy with occasional sunshine.
• The clouds is are of cumuliform type.
 The Warm & The Cold Fronts
Warm front occurs when the warm air mass moves
against a cold airmass at the level of the earth surface.
Cold front occurs when a cold airmass moves against
a warm airmass at the level of the earth surface.
In either cases, the warm air will climb over the cold air

Depending upon which airmass moves against which

airmass, a distinctive weathers pattern happens.
 More Details about the Cold Front
• Cold Front occurs when Cold airmass wedges into warm airmass .
• It pushes warm air mass violently upwards.
• The frontal surface has a slope of 1:100
• Cirrus cloud indicates approach of a cold front.
• As the front closes, the weather worsens.
• At front , thunderstorms, squalls and very heavy rains.
• Wx behind the cold front the skies are mainly clear.
 More Details about a Warm Front

• Warm air mass pushes a Cold air mass and slowly climbs over it.
• Frontal surface has a gentle slope 1:200
• Approach of a warm front is indicated by cirrus cloud.
• As the front comes closer, cirrus is followed by As, Ac, & fog.
• Wx worsens as front closes but not violent as cold front.
• Behind warm front, clear skies and pressure gradually drops.
• Warm front lies to the east of the low pressure area.
Analysis of weather at a
front
 Height / Extent Analysis
Diagram is a Vertical
cross section of a front.
Imagine that warm
air mass is pushing the
cold airmass from
left to right.

The atmospheric temp

Will increase as the
front passes over a
place and it is then
called a warm front.
 Height / Extent Analysis
Imagine that a cold
Air mass is pushing a
Warm airmass from
right to left.

The atmospheric
temperature will
decrease as the front
passes over a place
and it is then called a
cold front.
 Weather as a cold airmass approaches.

Before
While Passing After Passing
Passing
steadily
Temperature warm sudden drop
dropping
falling
Pressure minimum, then sharp rise rising steadily
steadily
increasing:
Clouds Cb Cu
Ci, Cs and Cb

short period heavy rains, sometimes with showers then

Precipitation
of showers hail, thunder and lightning clearing

fair to poor in good, except

Visibility poor, followed by improving
haze in showers

high; remains
Dew Point sharp drop lowering
steady
 Weather as a warm airmass approaches.

While
Before Passing After Passing
Passing

Temperature cool-cold, slow warming steady rise warmer, then steady

slight rise, followed by

Pressure usually falling leveling off
fall

in this order: Ci, Cs As, Ns, clearing with scattered

stratus-
Clouds St, and fog; occasionally Cb Sc; occasionally Cb in
type
in summer summer

light-to-moderate rain, snow, drizzle or usually none, sometimes

Precipitation
sleet, or drizzle none light rain or showers

poor, but
Visibility poor fair in haze
improving

Dew Point steady rise steady rise, then steady

 Vertical temperature profile of a front

Observer at B is standing
in the path of the front
and he has released a
radio sonde which gives
him a height
temperature profile
directly over his head
shown in the diagram
 What is a Frontal Depressions
• A frontal depressions (FD) is a low pressure area formed at
the boundary between two different air masses.
• Any depression, be it in tropics or in higher latitudes.
means bad weather because it is an area of low pressure.
• Diagram below shows formation of a Low.
 Stage 2 - Maturity
• As the depression
develops, the pressure
around the kinked
portion falls.
• Isobars become more
tightly packed.
• Winds become stronger
and stronger as pressure
keeps on falling.
• Distinct warm and cold
fronts are formed.
 Stage 2 - Maturity
• Warm air is pushed
towards the north while
colder air drives
southwards.
• The region between the
warm and cold front is
called the warm sector.
• The cloud near the fronts
thickens and the frontal
zone becomes broader.
• Rains is more prolonged,
with heaviest rains near
the low.
 Stage 3 - Occlusion
• Cold front moves 1 ½
times faster than a
warm front and soon
catches up with a
warm front.
• Denser cold air
replaces warm air at
the surface causing
the warm air to lift,
• The cold air
increasingly
undercuts the warm
air and warm sector
to become smaller.
 Stage 3 - Occlusion
• This overwhelming of
warm air by cold air
leads causes an
occluded front.
• The pressure of its
centre stops falling
and starts to rise and
rains reduce.
• All the warm air is
pushed up and
frontal system dies.
 The Occluded Front

Occluded Front occurs towards the end of a frontal depression

when a faster moving cold front gradually catches up with a
warm front and lifts it clear off the surface.