Fronts and Air Masses Notes

Open Ended

How do air masses affect the weather in a region?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a type of front where air masses meet?

• Warm front

• Cold front

• Stationary front

• Tropical front

Multiple Choice

What happens when a mass of cold air meets an area of warm air?

• The cold air slides under the warm air, causing clouds and possibly storms.

• The warm air slides under the cold air, causing clear skies.

• Both air masses mix evenly, causing mild weather.

• No significant weather changes occur.

Open Ended

Describe the difference in weather conditions before and after a cold front passes through an area.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are effects of a cold front advancing into a region of warm moist air?

• Cloud development

• Heavy storms

• Clear skies

• Decrease in humidity

Open Ended

Explain how the movement of a cold front can lead to the development of clouds and storms.

Open Ended

If you hear a cold front is coming, what type of weather might you expect?

Open Ended

Explain how the appearance of the sky and clouds in images 0 and 1 can help you predict upcoming weather changes.

Multiple Choice

What type of weather is typically associated with the approach of a cold front, as seen in the images of dark clouds over the ocean and coastline?

• Clear skies and warm temperatures

• Thunderstorms and heavy rain

• Sunny and dry conditions

• Light winds and mild weather

Multiple Choice

Which type of front is shown by a line with alternating blue triangles and red semicircles on a weather map?

• Stationary front

• Warm front

• Occluded front

• Cold front

Multiple Select

Which of the following features are commonly found on weather maps to indicate different types of fronts?

• Blue triangles for cold fronts

• Red semicircles for warm fronts

• Purple lines for occluded fronts

• Green lines for stationary fronts

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes what happens when a warm front occurs?

• A mass of warmer air moves into an area of cooler air

• A mass of cooler air moves into an area of warmer air

• Warm air and cold air mix evenly

• Cold air becomes warmer due to sunlight

Multiple Choice

What is a warm front?

• A boundary where cold air replaces warm air

• A boundary where warm air replaces cold air

• A boundary where warm and cold air mix evenly

• A boundary where air pressure drops suddenly

Open Ended

Explain how the density of warm and cold air affects the movement of air masses at a warm front.

Multiple Select

What are the possible weather outcomes when a warm front passes through an area?

• Scattered clouds if the warm air is dry

• Light rain or snow if the warm air contains a lot of water vapor

• Heavy thunderstorms always occur

• Clear skies with no clouds

Multiple Choice

Cloud development occurs because of frontal lifting of warm moist air. The advancing warm air moves behind the warm front, while the receding cold air is ahead of the warm front. The direction of frontal movement is indicated by an arrow. The map symbol for a warm front is shown. What does the map symbol for a warm front look like?

• A line with semicircles

• A line with triangles

• A line with squares

• A dashed line

Open Ended

Why do clouds, and sometimes precipitation, typically form along a frontal boundary such as a warm front?

Multiple Choice

What happens to the temperature after a warm front passes?

• It increases

• It decreases

• It stays the same

• It fluctuates unpredictably

Multiple Choice

Which symbol represents a warm front on a weather map?

• A red line with semicircles

• A blue line with triangles

• A purple line with alternating semicircles and triangles

• A green dashed line

Open Ended

Why does the warmer air in a warm front move over the colder air? What happens to temperature in an area after a warm front passes?

• When a cold air mass and warm air mass pass next to each other.

• These can last for a prolonged time.

• Often periods of rain and other precipitation.

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Stationary Front

Multiple Choice

What happens when a stationary front is in an area with low atmospheric pressure?

• A) It moves quickly

• B) It disappears

• C) It can bring cloudy and rainy weather

• D) It becomes a warm front

Multiple Choice

What is a stationary front?

• A) A front that moves rapidly across the sky

• B) A front where warm air moves faster than cold air

• C) A front where two air masses are pushing against each other without moving each other

• D) A front that only brings sunny weather

Open Ended

How do air masses affect weather?