Why do cold fronts bring thunderstorms?

Answer 1

Cold fronts are steeper then warm fronts.

Answer 2

A cold front occurs when a mass of cold air plows into a mass of warm air. Because the cold air is denser it forces the warm air upward. As the air rises it expands and cools. This causes the moisture in the warm air to condense and release large amounts of energy that can power a thunderstorm and possibly a tornado.

Additionally, a cold front generally creates a position where the wind makes a left turn (right in the Southern Hemisphere), which, along with wind shear, aids the storms in dveloping the rotation they need to produce a tornado. Warm fronts generally do not lead to the same levels of convection, and dry lines do not develop as often.

Answer 3

In a cold front cold air move through an air and forces the less dense warm air upwards. As the air rises it cools and moisture in it can condense. This can produce rain and clouds and the energy released by the condensation is what can cause a thunderstorm.

Answer 4

Simple, it is due to the fact that warm moist air is usually what is often ahead fronts. The warm moist air colliding with the cooler dryer air creates lift in in the atmosphere and when that warm moist air lifts up into the atmosphere into the cold air it condenses to make clouds. Those clouds then become bigger and the water molecules get heavier and heavier until the updraft in the storm just can't hold it anymore and then produces rain and thunderstorms.

Answer 5

A cold front is not a direct cause of tornadoes. If a cold front pushes into a sufficiently unstable air mass, it will trigger thunderstorms. If those storms are strong enough and a few other conditions line up correctly, those storms or at least parts of them will start to rotate. This rotation can then tighten and intensify to produce tornadoes.

Answer 6

In a cold front a cold air mass pushes into a less dense warm air mass and lifts it up. If conditions are right some of the pockets of air may reach a level where they become warmer than their surroundings and rise freely. If the air is moist enough condensation occurs, forming thunderstorms.

If conditions are right (namely, strong wind shear) these storms may produce hail and tornadoes.

Answer 7

A cold front invlovles a cooler air mass pushing into a wamrer one. As the front advances, the denser cold air acts like a wedge, pushing the warmer air upward. If there is enough instability in the warmer air masses, the air will continue to rise on its own, forming clouds that may eventually become thunderstorms.

Answer 8

In both cold fronts and warm fronts the cooler air undercuts the warmer air, forming something of a wedge. The boundary is steeper in a cold front, providing a stronger lifting mechanism to trigger thunderstorms. Additionally, since there is a smaller area in which the cool air mass lies under the warm one, the atmosphere is more likely to become unstable. As a result, cold fronts are more likely to produce thunderstorms than warm fronts and those storms are more likely to be strong. Strong thunderstorms are necessary to produce tornadoes.

Answer 9

Cold fronts are steeper then warm fronts.