What is a cold wave and how is it caused?

Question

What is a cold wave and how is it caused?

Answer 1

A cold wave is short for a a cold short waves.  The planet Earth is constantly trying to balance the heat energy in the atmosphere by moving warm air from near the tropics towards the cold polar region.  As a result, pockets of cold air gets displaced southward as warm air moves northward.  These pockets of cold and warm air that moves above the Earth's surface can be detected as a "wave like pattern" in a weather chart that plots the areas of constant pressure.  These constant pressure lines are what we call "Isobars".  When you draw these isobars out on a chart, one thing you will notice is that there are these wave like patterns are usually associated with the boundary of the leading edge of the cold pocket of air.  Knowing that unsettled weather are usually found along and near the leading edge of these pockets of cold or warm air, it is important to find these wave like pattern on the pressure field.  So a cold wave is just indicating one of these pockets of cold.  If enough moisture is available ahead of this wave, then you can not only forecast the colder temperature behind these waves... but also you will have a little more confidence in forecasting an increase chance of unsettled weather as the cold short wave approaches.

Answer 2

There is a jet stream all around the world..  It moves by temperatures.  High temps rise up in the ski cold temps go down. It makes the wind move that pressure  It moves all the world like that.

Answer 3

when cold air comes in from the north