How is a cold front formed?

A cold front is formed when a mass of advancing cold air pushes underneath a warmer air mass. This wedge of cold air forces the warmer, less dense air upwards, leading to various weather changes associated with a cold front, such as precipitation and a drop in temperature. The upward movement of warm air causes it to cool and condense, often resulting in cloud formation and potentially severe weather like thunderstorms.

This phenomenon is vital for understanding weather patterns and the characteristics of different air masses. High-density cold air displaces the lighter warm air, marking the boundary in meteorological models and displaying the dynamics between different air masses.