Polar front

Polar front

In meteorology, the polar front is the boundary between the polar cell and the Ferrel cell in each hemisphere. At this boundary a sharp gradient in temperature occurs between these two air masses, each at very different temperatures.

The polar front arises as a result of cold polar air meeting warm tropical air. It is a stationary front as the air masses are not moving against each other. Off the coast of eastern North America, especially in winter, there is a sharp temperature gradient between the snow-covered land and the warm offshore currents.

The polar front theory says that mid-latitude cyclones form on boundaries between warm and cold air. In winter, the polar front shift towards the Equator, whereas high pressure systems can dominate more in the summer.

External links

* [http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g110_w06/lecture_notes/midlat_surface/agburt10_02.jpgGraphic: Polar front - precipitation produced in zones of uplift]
* [http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g110_w06/lecture_notes/midlat_surface/midlat_surface.html Polar Front Theory of Midlatitude Cyclone Development]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • polar front — n. Meteorol. the boundary or transition region between the cold air of a polar region and the warmer air of the middle or tropical regions …   English World dictionary

  • polar front — noun the front of an advancing mass of colder air • Syn: ↑cold front • Hypernyms: ↑front • Hyponyms: ↑squall line * * * noun : the boundary between the cold air of a polar region and the warmer air o …   Useful english dictionary

  • polar front — A semipermanent and semicontinuous front separating air masses of tropical and polar origin. Typical polar front depression in the Southern Hemisphere …   Aviation dictionary

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  • polar front — noun Date: 1920 the boundary between the cold air of a polar region and the warmer air of lower latitudes …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • polar front — Meteorol. the variable frontal zone of middle latitudes separating air masses of polar and tropical origin. [1915 20] * * * …   Universalium

  • polar front — /poʊlə ˈfrʌnt/ (say pohluh frunt) noun the transition region, or belt, between the cold polar easterly winds and the relatively warm south westerly winds of the middle latitudes …  

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  • polar anticyclone — ▪ meteorology       wind system associated with a region in which high atmospheric pressure develops over or in the vicinity of the poles. The polar anticyclone is strongest in the cold season of the year. The Siberian anticyclone is an example… …   Universalium

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