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Weather Maps
Fronts and Pressure Systems
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| High Pressure System | air sinks slowly down and spreads out, causes dry clear weather |
| Low Pressure System | air rises, causes clouds, rain and wind |
| Cold Front | rapidly moving cold air runs into slow warm air, cold air sinks and warm air pushes upward |
| Warm Front | warm air overtakes a slow moving cold air mass |
| Occluded Front | a warm air mass is caught between two cooler air masses |
| Stationary Front | cold and warm air masses meet, but neither can move the other |
| Symbol for cold front | blue triangles |
| Symbol for warm front | red semi-circles |
| Symbol for occluded front | purple triangles and purple semi-circles facing the same direction |
| Symbol for stationary front | blue triangles and red semi-circles facing opposite directions |
| Air Mass | a huge body of air that has a similar temperature, humidity and air pressure at any given height |
| Front | boundary where air masses meet |