What is wind chill factor?

The wind chill factor comes from a formula that calculates the sensation of the air.

In practical meteorological terms, there is an actual air temperature and a “comfortable” temperature. Television forecasters often provide both numbers during especially hot summer days or cold winter days. In summer, the “feels like” of temperature is called the heat index, but during the winter, the “feels like” of temperature is often called the wind chill factor. This is a combination of air temperature and wind speed that affects the rate of frostbite on exposed skin.

The wind chill factor can be an important factor in some winter storms, as wind speeds can make winter air much colder than the actual reported temperature.

You can do a quick demo of the effects of wind chill on your desktop right now. Simply blow a quick stream of air on your exposed forearm or hand. The area receiving the rapid air movement should be noticeably cooler than the rest of the arm. This is the wind chill effect. As the accelerated air from his mouth moved across the exposed skin, the normal evaporation rate temporarily increased. The heat radiating from his arm was also affected by the change in wind speed.

Human ears are sensitive to cold.

So the actual wind chill effect works on a much larger scale. On a relatively warm winter day, the air temperature can be 32°F (O°C). This wouldn’t be especially uncomfortable for the average person wearing proper winter clothing, but what if the wind speed increased to 40 km/h? The “feel” temperature would drop to 19°F (-7°C). At this temperature, exposed skin can freeze within a few hours.

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Cold weather experts recommend covering your head and hands during winter weather events.

If the air temperature continues to drop and the wind speed remains constant, the wind chill factor can become cold enough to immediately freeze exposed meat. That’s why cold weather experts always recommend covering your face, head, neck, hands, and ears if you have to venture outside during a winter storm. This factor primarily affects human flesh, not most metals or machines.

Frozen toes may require amputation in extreme cases.

Different agencies responsible for official weather information use different formulas to calculate the wind chill factor. The easiest way for ordinary people to calculate wind chill factor for themselves is to access an online conversion table provided by official weather services. Air temperature and wind speed can be entered in dialog boxes and the approximate chill factor can be calculated in seconds. Charts are also available showing the wind chill factor at different temperatures, combined with estimated exposure times before the risk of frostbite appears.

If one really wants to calculate this factor like the pros do, here is the formula for Fahrenheit calculations: WC = 0.0817 (3.71 V^0.5 + 5.81 – 0.25 v) (T-91 ,4) +91.4 , where V = wind speed in mph and T = °F. Let’s leave a light on for you.

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