Ridge line

A zigzag or marked line along an axis of high pressure.

Also known as: Pressure ridge, High pressure axis

Maps & navigationScientificStandard profile

Meanings

A ridge is an elongated area of high pressure, the counterpart of a trough. Ridges bring settled weather, and in winter they bring the clear nights that produce frost and fog rather than the fine days a summer ridge produces.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Marks an elongated axis of relatively high pressure, the counterpart of a trough.
Contexts: Navigation, Maps
Common modern usageVerified fact
Brings settled conditions whose consequences differ by season: clear summer days and, in winter, the radiative cooling that produces frost and fog.
Contexts: Navigation, Maps

Visual description

A line drawn along the crest of the pressure pattern, sometimes marked with small zigzag or angled strokes.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Station model
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol depicts and which authority publishes it, not for the legend of any particular chart series or the text of any standard.
Met Office guidance and warning service
Met Office · retrieved 2026-08-21
The United Kingdom's national meteorological service. Authoritative for British warnings, the shipping forecast and public presentation. Warning colour schemes are national and differ between services.
Manual on Codes and the surface synoptic station model
World Meteorological Organization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Codifies how observations are exchanged between meteorological services. Public forecast graphics are drawn with far more latitude than this allows, so it is cited for the professional convention and never for what a television weather map means.
Surface weather analysis
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-23
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a mark, its usual name and where it is encountered. Where an issuing body defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
National Weather Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · retrieved 2026-08-21
The American national service. Cited where United States practice differs from British, which it does in warning terminology and in some chart conventions.

Last reviewed 2026-08-23

Part of

Meteorological chart notation

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Meanings

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Marks an elongated axis of relatively high pressure, the counterpart of a trough.

Contexts: Navigation, Maps

Common modern usageVerified fact

Brings settled conditions whose consequences differ by season: clear summer days and, in winter, the radiative cooling that produces frost and fog.

Contexts: Navigation, Maps

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Station model
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol depicts and which authority publishes it, not for the legend of any particular chart series or the text of any standard.
Met Office guidance and warning service
Met Office · retrieved 2026-08-21
The United Kingdom's national meteorological service. Authoritative for British warnings, the shipping forecast and public presentation. Warning colour schemes are national and differ between services.
Manual on Codes and the surface synoptic station model
World Meteorological Organization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Codifies how observations are exchanged between meteorological services. Public forecast graphics are drawn with far more latitude than this allows, so it is cited for the professional convention and never for what a television weather map means.
Surface weather analysis
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-23
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a mark, its usual name and where it is encountered. Where an issuing body defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.
National Weather Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · retrieved 2026-08-21
The American national service. Cited where United States practice differs from British, which it does in warning terminology and in some chart conventions.

Last reviewed 2026-08-23