Wind Chill

Tis' the season for wind chill factors!!! When leaving the house on a cold wintry day you may want to check out the wind chill factor, especially if you are planning on for long periods of time. When the air is cold and the wind is blowing it feels a lot colder than it actually is; the actual wind chill temperatures are based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin. As the wind increases, heat is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving down the skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it feel much colder. The wind chill factor is always lower than the air temperature; except at conditions well above freezing, where wind chill is considered less important. In this cases, heat index is used, where the apparent temperature is higher than the air temperature. Check out the chart below it gives you a better idea of blowing wind vs. temperatures on a cold wintry day!

Table Chart: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml