The Occluded Front

June 2013

With the changing of the seasons, we pay more attention to weather patterns.  A cold front moves in and we know there is likely to be cooler temperatures and heavy rainfall. We pop the umbrella in the work bag.  A warm front means a little more moisture in the air but we still hang the washing on the clothes line.

When the warm air collides with the cold air, we see frontal wedging in which air particles are forced upwards and condense into water droplets.  It could mean rain or even a thunderstorm- or perhaps a cyclone.  Or maybe there is just the formation of clouds that drift along and shadow other parts of the continent we live on.

Along the boundary of these warm and cold fronts, there is a battle for supremacy which sometimes results in a stationary front where there is no real movement, little precipitation and everything stalls.  This reminds me of a lot of conversations had over lots of different cups of coffee, tea or late night drinks.  Dialogue is rapid and entertaining though perspectives on a range of issues move very little; each person quite comfortable communicating along the frontline of their own ideas.

Sometimes when a cold front catches up to a warm front there is a wrapping and lengthening of the warm air around the low centre.  As they move together, they generate a new front through the process of occlusion.  The air mass behind the occluded front can be either warm or cold.  Inevitably a great variety of weather can be found along this occluded front.  This is unsettling, a little like when our conversational fronts merge and we discover a lengthening and wrapping around each other’s ideas through shared dialogue.

My own front, which I think of as this primary site of communication can sometimes blow hot or cold across the landscape of our shared environment. Sometimes I don’t even know where or how my front is moving or why the weather around me has changed so rapidly, but in the midst of it all, I like to think that my front could catch up with your front and through occlusion we could discover what lies beyond the boundary of your ideas and mine.