by ZAMG
The field of humidity shows high values immediately behind and above the frontal surface of the Warm Front. Low values can be found below the crowding zone of the equivalent potential temperature.
Like the distribution of the humidity, the field of temperature advection can also be separated into two parts. Therefore WA exists above and within the crowding zone of the Warm Front. The maximum of the WA can be found within the crowding zone in the mid-levels of the troposphere at approximately 500 hPa. On the other hand CA can be found below and in front of the crowding zone.
At the leading part above the frontal surface, at approximately 300 hPa, the atmosphere is characterized by a pronounced isotach maximum.
Well developed fronts are accompanied by a zone of distinct convergence within and divergence above the frontal zone. Consequently, upward vertical motion can be found above the frontal zone, responsible for cloud development.
The satellite images across the Warm Front in the ideal case are characterized by typical distributions. While the IR image shows across the frontal area continuously increasing values of grey shades from the rear to the leading edge, the distribution of the grey shades in the VIS image is inverse (see Cloud structure in satellite image). In contrast to this the WV image shows high pixel values within the frontal cloudiness and a pronounced minimum connected with the dry air.
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22 November 1995/06.00 UTC - Meteosat IR image; position of vertical cross section indicated
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22 November 1995/06.00 UTC - Vertical cross section; black: isentropes (ThetaE), red thick: temperature advection -
WA, red thin: temperature advection - CA, orange thin: IR pixel values, orange thick: WV pixel values
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22 November 1995/06.00 UTC - Vertical cross section; black: isentropes (ThetaE), blue: relative humidity, orange
thin: IR pixel values, orange thick: WV pixel values
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22 November 1995/06.00 UTC - Vertical cross section; magenta thin: divergence, magenta thick: convergence, cyan thick: vertical
motion (omega) - upward motion, cyan thin: vertical motion (omega) - downward motion, orange thin: IR pixel values, orange
thick: WV pixel values
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22 November 1995/06.00 UTC - Vertical cross section; black: isentropes (ThetaE), yellow: isotachs, orange thin: IR
pixel values, orange thick: WV pixel values
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