Cloud Patterns Associated with Midlatitude Cyclone

Life cycle
Frontal surface takes on a wave shape with low pressure centered at the apex of the wave
Flow of air is counterclockwise cyclonic circulation
Warm front and cold front form
Cold front catches up to warm front and produces an occlusion
Warm sector is displaced aloft
Pressure gradient weakens and fronts discontinue

Move eastward across the United States
First signs of their approach are in the western sky
Require two to four days to pass over a region
Largest weather contrasts occur in the spring

Changes in weather associated with the passage of a middle-latitude cyclone
Warm front
Clouds become lower and thicker
Light precipitation
After the passage of a warm front, winds become more southerly and temperatures warm

Changes in weather associated with the passage of a middle-latitude cyclone
Cold front
Wall of dark clouds
Heavy precipitation – hail and occasional tornadoes
After the passage of a cold front winds become more northerly, skies clear, and temperatures drop