Breaking it Down with Brittney - Cold Front

COLD FRONT: What is it exactly and how does it shove and replace a warm airmass? Meteorologist Brittney Merlot teaches us the science of this leading edge temperature drop off, which can move twice as fast and produce sharper changes than it's counter part, the warm front. It is marked on a map with a blue line and triangle shaped pips pointing out and in the direction of it's movement. Cold front are associated with a low pressure system. Cold air is denser than warm air, so when a cold front moves through, the air with greater density wedges under the less dense warmer air, lifting it, which causes the formation of a line of showers and thunderstorms.