Understanding & Calculating Wind Chill Using a Chart

Just as there are persistent hot places around the world, there are persistent cold places. The cold air alone can be deadly but when the air is moving if feels much colder. 

 

Wind chill is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air. The wind chill temperature is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold and is intended to give you an approximation of how cold the air feels on your body.

 

As the wind increases, it removes heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. If the temperature is 0°F and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill temperature is -19°F. At this level, exposed skin can freeze in just a few minutes.

 

The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to shorten the amount of time for the object to cool. The inanimate object will not cool below the actual air temperature. For example, if the temperature outside is -5°F and the wind chill temperature is -31°F, then your car’s radiator temperature will be no lower than the air temperature of -5°F.

To determine the wind chill temperature:

Q:    What is important about the wind chill besides feeling colder than the actual air
        temperature?

A:    The lower the wind chill temperature, the greater you are at risk for developing frost bite and/or
        hypothermia.  Frostbite occurs when your body tissue freezes. The most susceptible parts of the
        body are fingers, toes, ear lobes, and the tip of the nose. Hypothermia occurs when body core
        temperature, normally around 98.6°F falls below 95°F.