What is wind chill?
The National Weather Service offers this definition of wind chill: “Increased wind speeds accelerate heat loss from exposed skin.” No specific rules exist for determining when wind chill becomes dangerous. As a general rule, the threshold for potentially dangerous wind chill conditions is about -20°F. Follow this link for an explanation of the wind chill factor: www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.
Wind chill takes into account how the speed of the wind affects our perception of the air temperature. Our bodies warm the surrounding air molecules by transferring heat from the skin. If there’s no air movement, this insulating layer of warm air molecules stays next to the body and offers some protection from cooler air molecules. However, wind sweeps that comfy warm air surrounding the body away. The faster the wind blows, the faster heat is carried away and the colder the environment feels. The new formula was adopted by both Environment Canada and the U.S. National Weather Service to ensure a uniform wind chill standard in North America, The formula is supposed to more closely emulate the response of the human body when exposed to conditions of wind and cold than the old formula did. Formulas: Wind chill calculations are based on the following formula: 35.74 + 0.6215T – 35.75 * (V0.16 ) + 0.4275T * (V0.16) Where V is the wind-speed and T is the air temperature. Any place where the
Even if you have a very helpful weather man though, it still is a good idea to know the basic idea behind wind chill. By knowing what it is, you are better able to decide for yourself what you should be wearing or doing. Simply put, wind chill is the temperature that you seem to feel on your skin. The key word here is “seem.” This implies that the temperature that you feel may not actually reflect actual environmental temperature. The temperature that you seem to feel is the result of actual temperature plus the speed of wind. It’s easier to understand everything when one also understands how bodies are partly insulated. Under normal circumstances, exposed human skin has a layer of unmoving air which helps keep the warmth in. When the wind blows, part of this insulating barrier is blown off, hence, one may start to feel the cold. In reality, skin temperature is not the same as external temperature, when the barrier is blown off, closer to actual environmental temperature may be felt wh
