Modifications of the structure of cold fronts over the foreland and in a mountain valley

Summary The investigations during the German Frontal Experiment 1987 show the modification of structure and movement of cold fronts in the vicinity of the Alps and in an Alpine valley. The two cold fronts that moved nearly parallel to the mountains were modified at the mountain barrier by the channelling effect. In those cases the postfrontal air flowed into the Inn valley from the valley's exit up-valley. The upper and lower parts of the fronts became detached, and the structure of the lower part changes on its way from the foreland to the mountain barrier.In contrast the fourth cold front, which moved from north-west to south-east, crossed the mountains without appreciable deformation although it suffered some degree of blocking and retardation.With 7 Figures