ACCORDING TO THE NORTH CAROLINA CLIMATE OFFICE:
A warm front is the surface boundary between a warm air mass and a cold air mass it is overtaking. The warm air moves into an area of colder, drier air. The air masses do not readily mix; therefore the warm air rises slowly over the colder air because it is less dense. This produces clouds and precipitation well ahead of the approaching warm front, since warm air in the southeastern US usually has higher water vapor content than cool air. Steady precipitation usually persists along the boundary of a warm front. This amount of precipitation, however, depends on the amount of moisture in the air ahead of the surface front. If the warm air is relatively dry and stable, precipitation would not be likely to occur. If the air is moist and conditionally unstable, heavy precipitation could occur over a broad area.
Occluded fronts form when a cold front catches up to a warm front because cold fronts move along much faster than warm fronts do. The cold front over takes the warm front and cold air moves into cooler air ahead of the warm front. Occluded fronts are represented on weather maps as alternating warm and cold front symbols in purple pointing in the direction the front is moving. Occluded fronts are not particularly common in the southeast US. The low pressure centers may begin in the south, but will typically move to the northeast and form an occlusion farther north. The precipitation patterns for an occluded front typically follow the same patterns as a cold front. Temperature will vary after the occluded front passes depending on the different air masses that are interacting with the occlusion.
THIS WAS NOTED DIRECTLY FROM THE TEXT.
Website link: https://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Fronts
