Occluded Fronts: Key Concepts and Details

Introduction to Occluded Fronts

An occluded front forms when a warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses.
The warm air is pushed upward as the cold air masses move toward each other, resulting in the warm air being occluded or cut off from the ground.
These fronts usually form around mature low-pressure areas and can bring strong winds and heavy precipitation.

Occurs when the cold air mass overtaking the warm front is colder than the cool air ahead of the warm front.
The colder air plows under both the warm and cool air masses.

Occurs when the cool air mass overtaking the warm front is warmer than the cold air ahead.
The warm occlusion lifts the warm air by riding over the colder air mass.

Occluded fronts can bring a variety of weather conditions, including thunderstorms.
Typically associated with a drying of the air mass after passing.
Rarely, cold core funnel clouds can form if there is significant shear along the cold front.
After a low-pressure system decays, occluded fronts may linger, leading to cloudy conditions with patchy rain or showers.
Clouds and precipitation are linked to the TROWAL (trough of warm air aloft) position rather than the frontal boundary on the surface.

Occluded fronts are represented by a purple line with alternating semicircles and triangles pointing in the direction of movement.
Alternatively, they may be shown as a combination of red semicircles and blue triangles pointing in the same direction.

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