What occurs during a frontal inversion?

During a frontal inversion, the phenomenon that takes place is characterized by warm air overriding cold air. This occurs when a warm air mass moves into an area occupied by a colder air mass, creating a temperature inversion. In a typical situation, warm air is less dense than cold air, so as the warm air moves in, it rises above the colder, denser air near the surface.

This layering can lead to stable atmospheric conditions, where the warm air acts as a cap preventing the cold air from mixing upward. As a result, the cold air remains trapped close to the ground, which can lead to fog and low stratus clouds forming beneath the warm layer. Understanding this process is essential in meteorology, as it can influence weather patterns and phenomena such as precipitation and visibility. The other choices do not accurately describe the dynamics of a frontal inversion, as they either misrepresent the movement of air masses or suggest a uniform distribution that does not occur in this context.