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Troughs
upper level lows

When the height contours bend strongly to the south, (as in the diagram below), it is called a TROUGH. Strong troughs are typically preceded by stormy weather and colder air at the surface. Below is an example of a trough in an upper-level height field (red contours). The trough axis is denoted by the purple line.


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Credits and Acknowledgments for WW2010.
Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.