Stationary Front

Weather map showing a stationary front

A stationary front is represented on a map by triangles pointing in one direction and semicircles pointed in the other direction.

L.S.Gardiner/UCAR

A stationary front forms when two air masses of different temperatures push against each other but neither is powerful enough to move the other, causing the front to stop moving. On a weather map, a stationary front is shown as alternating red semicircles and blue triangles.