How fast does the cold front travel? Learn 8 things you don't know about the cold front in this article

At present, a cold front is affecting most parts of my country, bringing a significant drop in temperature to various places in central and eastern China. The temperature in many cities has hit a new low since the second half of this year. Every autumn and winter, cold air is the undisputed "protagonist" on the weather stage in my country, often occupying the center position. Where does the cold air come from? Where do you like to go? Here is everything you want to know about cold air!

Not all cold air is called cold wave

Cold air is an air mass that lowers the temperature of the places it passes through. Some cold air is just a minor one, bringing some temperature fluctuations; some are strong and powerful, causing large-scale rain and snow to cool down. Cold air has different cooling capabilities and is called different names, including weak cold air, relatively strong cold air, severe cold air, and cold wave.

Where does the cold air come from?

The cold air that affects my country all originates in the Arctic region, and then moves southward through Siberia. Siberia is located at a high latitude and altitude, and is located in the interior of the continent, so it receives less heat and dissipates heat quickly. It is the cold center of the northern hemisphere, like a "gas station" for cold air. The cold air accumulates and accumulates energy here, and then, under the guidance of the high-altitude northwest airflow, it finally breaks out and continues to move southward to affect my country.

Why does the strength of cold air vary?

The strength of cold air is mainly reflected in the degree of temperature drop, so the strength of cold air depends not only on the strength of the cold air itself, but also on the basic temperature of the affected area. If the cold air itself is very strong and the basic temperature of the area it passes through is relatively high, resulting in a sharp drop in temperature, it may reach the intensity of a cold wave. If the strength of the cold air itself is average and the temperature of the area it passes through is also relatively low, resulting in a slight drop in temperature, it is a weak cold air process. Therefore, cold waves generally occur in late autumn or early spring, because the Arctic cold air begins to strengthen at this time, and the temperature in my country is relatively high. As the saying goes, the higher you climb, the harder you fall, and the temperature drop is the greatest when the cold air arrives.

How fast does cold air travel?

Cold air of different intensities moves at different speeds, with weak cold air moving faster than strong cold air and cold waves. Cold air of different intensities moves on land at speeds ranging from 20 to 80 kilometers per hour, with an average speed of 50 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the speed of a car on a city road.

Where do you like/dislike cold air the most?

Affected by factors such as latitude, geographical location, and topography, cold air activity in my country is more frequent in the north than in the south. Northern Xinjiang, the area near Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, and eastern Jilin are areas with the most frequent cold air activity. Western Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, and the Sichuan Basin are areas with the least cold air activity.

Is there cold air in summer?

my country is affected by cold air all year round. The period from September to April of the following year is the most active and strongest period of cold air. The cold air in summer also comes from Siberia. It is generally weak, with little wind and high temperature after cooling, so it is not easy to be noticed by people. At the same time, cold air is the main driver of rainfall, such as the pre-flood season in South China, the plum rain in the south of the Yangtze River, and the rainy season in North China, which are all the result of the combined effect of the southward cold air and the northward summer monsoon.

Where did the cold air go in the end?

When the cold air moves southward and arrives in my country, the ground temperature in my country is usually higher than the cold air itself, and the higher the latitude, the higher the ground temperature. The ground is like a heater, exchanging heat with the cold air, causing the temperature of the cold air to continue to rise, and the cooling ability to become increasingly poor, eventually losing the characteristics of cold air and "dying". Some cold air is unwilling to only have a presence on land, and crosses the mountains and plains all the way to the sea, causing severe weather such as strong winds. However, in the end, the cold air still cannot escape the fate of being "heated" by the ocean, and turns into a breeze on the sea.

How far can the cold air go?

In early January 2005, a strong cold front moved eastward and southward in the Northern Hemisphere, affecting China, Japan, South Korea and other countries. Afterwards, it continued to move southward, hitting Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries, and finally crossed the equator, causing a tropical depression along the coast of Australia to strengthen into a tropical cyclone (equivalent to a typhoon in my country), bringing storms to northern Australia and Queensland. This cold front is so powerful that it can still stir up trouble in the Southern Hemisphere after crossing the equator, making it the "leader" in the cold air world.

Editor: fr