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DGCA Aviation Meteorology · 48 questions

Fronts & Air Masses: DGCA Aviation Meteorology Questions and Answers

48 practice questions on Fronts & Air Masses with answers and explanations, plus the key concepts and formulas, from the TrueHeading question bank.

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About this topic

Use this page to revise Fronts & Air Masses for the DGCA Aviation Meteorology paper. Below are the key ideas first, then 12 practice questions with answers and explanations, picked from the 48 questions in the TrueHeading bank for this topic.

In short: Steep slope (about 1 : 50), moves fast, lifts warm air sharply.

Open the full set in the student zone to answer every question, track your accuracy and take timed mock tests.

Key concepts: Fronts & Air Masses

5 ideas to know cold.

What is a cold front like?

Steep slope (about 1 : 50), moves fast, lifts warm air sharply.

  • Cb, heavy showers, squalls, thunderstorms
  • Pressure rises, temperature drops, wind veers (northern hemisphere)
  • Visibility poor in rain, then excellent
cold airwarm airfront moves →steep slope ≈ 1 : 50 · Cb, heavy showers, squallsfront

What is a warm front like?

Gentle slope (about 1 : 150), warm air rises over cold air.

  • Cloud sequence Ci, Cs, As, Ns
  • Steady rain, low cloud, poor visibility ahead of the front
  • Pressure falls ahead, steadies behind; wind veers; temperature rises behind
cold airwarm airCsAsNs · rainfront moves →gentle slope ≈ 1 : 150 · layered cloud, steady rain, lowering base

What is an occlusion?

Where the cold front catches up with the warm front and lifts the warm sector off the ground.

  • Cold occlusion: air behind is colder than the air ahead
  • Warm occlusion: air behind is warmer than the air ahead
  • Weather combines both fronts

Air mass names?

Named by source region and surface: m maritime, c continental; T tropical, P polar, A arctic.

  • mT: warm and moist, fog and low cloud
  • cP: cold and dry, good visibility
  • Modification occurs as the mass moves away from its source

Compare warm and cold fronts.

Warm front: slope 1:150, slow, layered cloud (Ci, Cs, As, Ns), steady rain ahead, visibility poor. Cold front: slope 1:50, faster, Cb and showers, squalls and veer in wind.

  • Cold front speed ≈ the geostrophic wind speed at the front
  • Warm sector: warm, moist, often low stratus and drizzle
  • Occlusion: cold front catches the warm front

Practice questions: Fronts & Air Masses

Tap “Show answer” after you have tried each one.

Q1A cold front is a boundary where:

  1. two air masses are stationary
  2. warm air advances and replaces cold air
  3. cold air advances and replaces warmer air
  4. air is descending
Show answer

Answer: C. cold air advances and replaces warmer air

Cold air undercuts the warm air and forces it upward.

Q2Typical weather at a cold front is:

  1. continuous light rain and falling pressure
  2. clear skies and haze
  3. fog and calm
  4. cumulonimbus, heavy showers, squalls and a veering wind
Show answer

Answer: D. cumulonimbus, heavy showers, squalls and a veering wind

Steep frontal slope gives vigorous ascent.

Q3As a warm front passes, the wind (northern hemisphere):

  1. veers
  2. is unchanged
  3. backs
  4. reverses completely
Show answer

Answer: A. veers

Wind veers from south-east/south to south-west with the front passing.

Q4The slope of a warm front is about:

  1. 1:50
  2. 1:500
  3. 1:15
  4. 1:150
Show answer

Answer: D. 1:150

A warm front typically has a slope of about 1:150; a cold front about 1:50.

Q5Pressure just before a warm front passes typically:

  1. falls
  2. rises
  3. oscillates
  4. is constant
Show answer

Answer: A. falls

Pressure falls ahead of the warm front and steadies in the warm sector.

Q6A cold front typically moves at about:

  1. the speed of the geostrophic (2 000 ft) wind component perpendicular to it
  2. the speed of the surface wind in the cold air only
  3. twice the speed of the 500 hPa wind
  4. a few knots, whatever the wind
Show answer

Answer: A. the speed of the geostrophic (2 000 ft) wind component perpendicular to it

Fronts move at about the geostrophic wind speed normal to them in the warm sector; a warm front moves at roughly two-thirds of that speed.

Q7A warm occlusion occurs when:

  1. the air behind the cold front is warmer than the air ahead of the warm front
  2. the cold front is passing
  3. the front is stationary
  4. the cold air behind is colder than the cold air ahead
Show answer

Answer: A. the air behind the cold front is warmer than the air ahead of the warm front

The cold front rides up over the warmer-sector wedge. A cold occlusion has colder air behind.

Q8An air mass is classified by its:

  1. cloud type only
  2. wind speed
  3. source region and the track it takes
  4. height of the tropopause
Show answer

Answer: C. source region and the track it takes

E.g. maritime tropical (mT), continental polar (cP).

Q9Continental polar air in winter is:

  1. cold, dry and stable near the surface
  2. warm and dry
  3. cold and moist
  4. warm and moist
Show answer

Answer: A. cold, dry and stable near the surface

Clear skies and good visibility away from the source; showery if heated over warm sea.

Q10Visibility in the warm sector of a depression is typically:

  1. unlimited
  2. poor in mist, drizzle or fog
  3. excellent everywhere
  4. always above 50 km
Show answer

Answer: B. poor in mist, drizzle or fog

Moist, stable maritime tropical air.

Q11The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is the region where:

  1. polar and tropical air meet
  2. the westerlies meet the polar easterlies
  3. the north-east and south-east trade winds meet
  4. the monsoon retreats
Show answer

Answer: C. the north-east and south-east trade winds meet

Heavy convective rain along a belt near the equator that migrates with the sun.

Q12Typical warm front weather:

  1. radiation fog
  2. brief squalls and clear skies
  3. hail only
  4. prolonged rain with low cloud and poor visibility
Show answer

Answer: D. prolonged rain with low cloud and poor visibility

Gentle slope and wide cloud shield.

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