When a warm or cold front stops moving, it becomes a stationary front. Once this boundary resumes its forward motion, it once again becomes a warm front or cold front. A stationary front is represented by alternating blue and red lines with blue triangles pointing towards the warmer air and red semicircles pointing towards the colder air.

A noticeable temperature change and/or shift in wind direction is commonly observed when crossing from one side of a stationary front to the other.

In the map above, temperatures south of the stationary front were in the 50's and 60's with winds generally from the southeast. However, north of the stationary front, temperatures were in the 40's while the winds had shifted around to the northeast. Cyclones migrating along a stationary front can dump heavy amounts of precipitation, resulting in significant flooding along the front.

introduction

Terms for using data resources. CD-ROM available. Credits and Acknowledgments for WW2010. Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Cold Front