Day 83: Where Is The Cold Front?
A mid-level low is slowly moving through the southern plains, bringing with it cooler, drier air at the surface. The leading edge of the cooler, drier air at the surface is called a cold front. Contrary to popular belief among beginning meteorology students and weather enthusiasts, a cold front cannot be identified as the location where winds shift from south to north. Although the two exist together, in reality a front is the result in a gradient in temperature, not a change in wind direction.
Armed with that information, examine the image above. It was produced by the Oklahoma Mesonet and was valid at 9:00 PM CDT this evening. The image displays the current temperatures throughout Oklahoma. Can you identify where the cold front is located?
If you guessed the the cold front is located along the color-fill gradient located through along I44 in southwest Oklahoma and I35 in central Oklahoma you’d be correct. The image below confirms this analysis; the temperature is cooler by double digits west of this boundary and cooler by single digits or even warmer in areas east of this boundary.
About Patrick
Patrick Marsh is a Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma's School of Meteorology. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Physics (cum laude) from the University of Arkansas in 2005 and a Masters of Science in Meteorology in 2007. In addition to working on his doctorate, Patrick serves as the National Severe Storms Laboratory Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed where his research interests lie in working with operational forecasters, data mining, data visualization, and all things high-impact weather. For more about Patrick's work, check out his complete CV!
Connect with Patrick!