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How does an occluded front form?
Choices
A warm air mass forms in place with no movement
A stationary front, not an occluded front, shows little movement.
✓ A fast-moving cold front overtakes a warm frontcorrect
An occlusion occurs when a cold front catches up to and lifts a warm front.
Two high-pressure systems merge
Fronts are boundaries between air masses, not merged highs.
A warm front dissipates over water
This does not describe how an occluded front forms.
Why
An occluded front forms when a faster cold front overtakes a preceding warm front, lifting the warm air aloft.
FAA source: PHAK Ch. 12 / Aviation Weather Handbook FAA-H-8083-28browse the reference library →
Original study question written for this course — representative of FAA knowledge-test topics, not an actual current FAA exam question.