Crossword Genius

Plight of weather, by dwindling fronts? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

feathery

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'plight of weather' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'by dwindling fronts?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'by' could be 'at' and 'at' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for feathery that I've seen before include "being described as down" , "like birds" , "Fluffy" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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