STRUCTURE OF DEPRESSION (FRONTAL)

FRONT
The boundary between two adjacent air masses which are well defined by their different
characteristics is called a front. The two air masses should have different density,
pressure and temperature and should have originated from different source regions of
different latitudes.

The type of front depends on the following:

1. The direction in which the air mass is moving

2. The characteristics of the air mass.

TYPES OF FRONT
On the basis of Direction in which the air mass is moving
1. Arctic Front– It is located between the very cold arctic air and less cold polar air.
The temperature difference across the front is small, contrasts are therefore small.
The circulation activity connected with this front is weak.
2. Polar Front– It is located between the Polar Air and the Tropical air and is the
most active front with large contrasts in the physical properties of the air masses.
It is very vigorous in behaviour.
3. Inter-tropical Front (ITCZ Front)– It is found in the Inter-Tropical Convergence
Zone (ITCZ) between the opposing trade wind belts. It has a very small contrast in
the physical properties of the opposing air masses. The frontal activity is very
weak.

On the basis of the characteristics of the air mass

 Cold Front – Picture Courtesy: https://climate.ncsu.edu/
1. Cold Front – After a front passes over a place, if the atmospheric temperature
is lower than before, the front is called a cold front. They tend to move faster
than all other types of fronts. They move the farthest while maintaining their
intensity. They are generally associated with the most violent weather among
all types of fronts. They have associated with strong thunderstorms along &
ahead of the front and a broad area of clouds immediately behind the front.
They are usually associated with squall lines which are a line of strong
thunderstorm parallel to and ahead of the front. They usually bring cooler
weather, clear skies and sharp changes in wind direction. On weather maps,
blue line denotes cold front. In facsimile, conical symbols (like icicles) are used
to denote cold front.
  

2. Warm Front– After a front passes over a place, if the atmosphere temperature is higher
than before, the front is said to be a warm front. The warm front has a gentler slope
than the cold fronts. Warm fronts tend to move slowly. They are generally less violent
than cold fronts. They are generally associated with large regions of a gentle ascent,
stratiform clouds and light to moderate continuous rain. Behind the warm front, the skies
are relatively clear. A warm front if exists on a weather map, it will be to the NE of a cold
front and often, to the East of a surface low-pressure area. On a weather map, red line
denotes warm front. In facsimile, rounded symbols (like heat boils) are used to denote
the warm fronts.

3. Occluded front – A type of frontal boundary that occurs when the cold front
catches up with the warm front. If a fast-moving cold air mass overtakes a slower-
moving warm front and then continues advancing and catches another cold front,
an occluded front form. Weather associated with the occluded front is similar to
the weather associated with a cold front.
 

4. Stationary Front– When a cold air mass and a warm air mass parallel each other
with little horizontal movement, stationary front forms. Weather is similar to a
warm front, although it may possibly last a long time.

FRONTAL DEPRESSION
Frontal Depression – PC: https://www.allatsea.net/

1. A frontal depression is a low-pressure area formed at the boundary between two

different air masses. It occurs in middle or higher latitudes. Series of the following
one after the other is known as ‘family of frontal depressions’.
2. The formation of a frontal depression is called ‘frontogenesis‘.
3. The warm air must travel faster than the cold air or both must travel in opposite
directions.
4. The front depression starts a small bulge of warm air in the cold air. The bulge
then increases in size and the isobars in the cold air begin to bend accordingly.
5. Since the density of warm air is less than that of the cold air, the bulge is an area
of low pressure surrounded by areas of high pressure on three sides.
6. The bent isobars take closed shapes and the winds blow spirally inward,
anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
7. The isobars inside the bulge remain straight and roughly parallel to the original
boundary between the two air masses.
8. On crossing the front, the isobars change direction by 90 degrees. Because of
this, when a front pass over a place, the wind suddenly veers by 90° in the NH
and backs by 90° in the SH.
 9. The entire system will move in the same direction as the warm air mass and with
approximately the same speed as the warm air mass.

Weather Associated with Frontal Depression:

 
Weather Sequence on the passage of a Frontal Depression in NH

1. A)     At Point ‘A’: Well before the warm front

2. Atmospheric pressure falls steadily.

3. Wind direction is steady and wind force is increasing.
4. Temperature is slowly rising.
5. There is continuous heavy rain or snow.
6. Visibility is good except during showers.
7. B)     At Point ‘B’: Just before the Warm Front

8. Atmospheric pressure stops falling and becomes steady.

9. Wind suddenly veers by 90° (backs in SH)
10. Wind force becomes steady.
11. Temperature suddenly rises quickly.
Precipitation stops, but mist or fog is present, because of which, visibility is poor.

1. C)    At Point ‘C’: After the Warm Front, before the Cold Front

2. Atmospheric pressure is constant.

3. Wind direction, wind force and temperature are all steady.
4. Sky is cloudy and there is drizzle, fog or mist, because of which, visibility is poor.
5. D)    At Point ‘D’: At the Cold Front / Just after Cold Front passes

6. Atmospheric Pressure suddenly rises

7. Wind suddenly veers by about 90°. (backs in the SH)
8. Wind force is significantly high giving rise to squalls.
9. The temperature suddenly falls.
10. There is heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
11. Visibility is poor due to rain squalls.
12. E)    At Point ‘E’: Well after the Cold Front passes

13. Atmospheric pressure rises slowly.

14. Wind direction becomes steady again.
15. Wind force gradually decreases & temperature becomes steady.
16. There are occasional showers, during which the visibility is poor. Otherwise,
visibility is very good.
FRONTOLYSIS
Frontolysis is the decay or weakening and final dissipation of a frontal depression.

1. The first step is the formation of ‘occlusions’.

2. The cold air in front of and behind the warm sector of a frontal depression soon
manages to undercut the warm air and lift it completely above the sea level. The
depression is then said to be occluded.
3. There are three stages of decay of a frontal depression. These are shown below:
4. If after the passage of an occlusion, the air temperature is lower than before, the
occlusion is said to be cold occlusion.
5. If after the passage of an occlusion, the air temperature is higher than before, the
occlusion is said to be a warm occlusion.
6. On the passage of an occlusion, the wind veers more for cold occlusions than for
warm. (backs in SH)
7. Weather associated with warm and cold occlusions is similar to that of the warm
and cold front but just milder.
8. Within a few days of the occlusions, the frontal depression fills up and is no longer
visible on the weather maps.
What causes frontal depression?
Frontal or Polar Depressions
The boundary between two air masses is often distorted by warmer air bulging into the
colder air, with the bulge moving along like a wave. The leading edge of the wave is
known as a "warm front" while the trailing edge is called a "cold front"
A frontal depression is a low-pressure area formed at the boundary between two different
air masses. ... The warm air must travel faster than the cold air or both must travel in
opposite directions. The front depression starts a small bulge of warm air in the cold air.
What is the frontal occlusion process?
 
In meteorology, an occluded front is a weather front formed during the process of
cyclogenesis. The classical view of an occluded front is that they are formed when a cold
front overtakes a warm front, such that the warm air is separated (occluded) from the
cyclone center at the surface.
How is a trough of low pressure identified?
When there is a low-pressure region, symbolized by the letter L, there is a trough. For a
high-pressure region around the dashed lines, symbolized by the letter H, there is a
ridge. The better you can identify troughs and ridges on a weather map, the easier it is
to forecast the weather.
How are you going to know low pressure area using synoptic charts?
The circular lines you see on the chart are isobars, which join areas of the same
barometric pressure. ... In terms of the wind direction, air moves around high pressure
in a clockwise direction and low pressure in an anticlockwise direction, so isobars also
tell us the direction and speed of the wind.
On weather maps, these readings are represented as a blue “H” for high pressure or  a red “L” for
low pressure. RED indicates Low Pressure on a Map.