Midwestern farmers used to say "mare's tail and mackerel scales bring the storm down on you head"; mare's tails are cirrus clouds and mackerel scales are cirrostratus. when this sequence is followed by altostratus the old farmers were talking about an approaching ________ front.
When this sequence is followed by altostratus the old farmers were talking about an approaching warm front. In addition, a warm front is well-defined as the changeover area where a warm air mass is substituting a cold air mass. The warm fronts usually move from southwest to northeast and the air in arrears a warm front is warmer and moister than the air ahead of it. When a warm front permits over the air turn out to be markedly warmer and more humid than it was earlier.
