Once the vertical motion near the top of the cloud slows down, the top of the cloud spreads out and takes on an anvil-like shape. Below the cloud, the down-rushing air increases surface winds and decreases the temperature. Warm, rising air cool, precipitation-induced descending air and violent turbulence all exist within and near the cloud. This creates a downward motion of the air. At this point, drops of moisture, whether rain or ice, are too heavy for the cloud to support and begin falling in the form of rain or hail. Within approximately 15 minutes, the thunderstorm reaches the mature stage, which is the most violent time period of the thunderstorm’s life cycle. Continuous, strong updrafts prohibit moisture from falling. If sufficient moisture and instability are present, the clouds continue to increase in vertical height. It begins with the cumulus stage, in which lifting action of the air begins. Embedded thunderstorms, rain, and fog are likely to occur.Ī thunderstorm makes its way through three distinct stages before dissipating. If the air forced aloft by the warm front occlusion is unstable, the weather is more severe than the weather found in a cold front occlusion. A warm front occlusion occurs when the air ahead of the is the case, the cold front rides up and over the warm front. Typically, the cold front occlusion creates a mixture of weather found in both warm and cold fronts, providing the air is relatively stable. When this occurs, the cold air replaces the cool air and forces the warm front aloft into the atmosphere. A cold front occlusion occurs when a fast moving cold front is colder than the air ahead of the slow moving warm front. There are two types of occluded fronts that can occur, and the temperatures of the colliding frontal systems play a large part in defining the type of front and the resulting weather. As the occluded front approaches, warm front weather prevails but is immediately followed by cold front weather. An occluded front occurs when a fast-moving cold front catches up with a slow-moving warm front.
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