Fronts are actually zones of transition, but sometimes the transition zone, called a frontal zone, can be quite sharp. The type of front depends on both the direction in which the air mass is moving and the characteristics of the air mass. Not all of these patterns may be obvious or even occur, but these are some signs. Cold fronts tend to move faster than all other types of fronts. Cold fronts tend to be associated with the most violent weather among all types of fronts.
Cold fronts tend to move the farthest while maintaining their intensity.
In winter, cold fronts move into Oklahoma mainly from the Canadian prairies but sometimes from the Arctic Circle or the eastern Pacific. Cold fronts almost always are easier to locate on a weather map than are warm fronts, primarily because of the strength of the high pressure system to the north and west of the cold front compared to that north of a warm front. Cold fronts usually bring cooler weather, clearing skies, and a sharp change in wind direction. Warm fronts tend to move slowly. Warm fronts are typically less violent than cold fronts.