stationary front

American  

noun

Meteorology.

1. a front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all.

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stationary front Scientific  

/ stā′shə-nĕr′ē /

1. A transition zone between two nearly stationary air masses of different density.

2. See more at front

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Etymology

Origin of stationary front

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

That’s the air now wafting north into thunderstorms and being converted into heavy downpours along a stationary front.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2022

A stationary front draped across the southern Plains will bring heavy rainfall to parts of Texas.

From Fox News • Nov. 3, 2021

Unlike the stationary front lines and trenches on the Western Front, the war in the east was one of movement.

From Slate • Nov. 27, 2018

"Until now the area was socked in by a long stationary front with cloud cover," the official said.

From New York Times • Jun. 4, 2012

A line with triangles and semicircles pointing in opposite directions marks a stationary front, which is created when two air masses of differing temperatures meet and neither overtakes the other.

From Time Magazine Archive