Describe the structure and properties of the typical cold front and explain what usually happens when it meets a warm front

What will be an ideal response?


Answer: The structure of a typical cold front has its upper boundary sloping back in the direction of the cold air. As polar air surges away from its source region, it does not do so as a vertical wall of cold air; in fact, the boundary of the front slopes strongly backward with distance from the ground. The frontal boundary is not flat but curved; close to the ground the slope of the front is steeper than it is aloft. This is due to the varying effect of friction. Friction is strongest at the ground but decreases upward. When it meets a warm front an occluded front forms.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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